A Fresh Start
by Cadet Jeevas
Summary: A story that revolves around a fourth grader named Emma, who recently moved to South Park with her family. She is initially taken in by the boy's, being mistaken as male until Wendy and the other girls confront her. She strives to make friends as well as take care of what little family she has left while dealing with crushes, financial burdens, and overall fourth grade drama.
1. Chapter 1

I'd been attending South Park Elementary for two weeks before anyone noticed me. It wasn't because I was quiet, however because I didn't care enough to talk to anyone. I was excited when my father told me that we were moving to Colorado; the thought of living in New York for any longer drove my mind wild; I detested the city and just wanted to live in a small, snowy mountain town. It was nice, peaceful, serene; well, it _was_ , at least.

The first time anyone noticed me was when I was instructed by my teacher to go down to the counselor's office to resolve some matters. My old institution failed to provide South Park with my information until after I had already enrolled. I knocked on the office's door.

"Come in, m'kay," A low, almost garbled voice instructed and I did.

I walked into the office to find an older man in green with a balding head and a peppy, youthful smile.

"I was told to come down," I said quietly, taking a seat in front of his desk.

"Yeah, um, on your transcript, it says your brother was um…." He stopped. This was normal. People were shifty around the subject.

"Killed," But, I wasn't. I wasn't scared or fazed. I was used to it.

"Yeah, um, killed, in the army."

I sighed. I just wanted to go back to class. My older brother died when I was six, so it wasn't that long ago, but he wasn't the first to die in my family; that was my mother. I just didn't want to have the same conversation as I've had many times over. I mourned him and my mother and still do but being reminded of it day after day wore my immune system into the grave.

"So, if there is anything you need to talk to me about just let me know or notify your teacher, m'kay," He said. He tried to be kind, so I wasn't rude to him. It wasn't his fault I heard this speech nearly every day of my life.

The conversation faded and I returned to class; there were only ten minutes left until recess, so I didn't bother to listen. Recess came and went just the same. I walked around, kept my head low, and avoided confrontation; from being here a few weeks, I could tell the few distinct groups; there were the girls who all huddled together as if they were trying to stay warm in a hurricane, there were the jocks, the nerds, the losers, and the Goths. I figured, out of all of them, I'd fit in with the losers, but I was a girl and all the losers looked to be boys. So, instead, I just walked in circles until I heard someone call out to me.

"Hey, new kid!" It was a boy's voice. I looked up, but was still slouched. It was snowing that day, so my hood kind of covered my face and probably made me look ominous or threatening which is why I was so shocked to hear someone talking to me.

He was blond, slightly shorter than the other boys with kind blue eyes. I think I saw one of the sixth graders beating him up the first day I arrived.

I cleared my throat from the phlegm; it was cold season and the first to go was always my voice.

"Hello?" I crept over to where he and the other losers stood.

"What's your game, new kid?" A boy wearing a red parka inquired.

"My… game?"

"He's asking why you moved here, what's your story," Another boy asked, this one wearing a browner red coat. After I didn't really reply, he asked, "Your name?"

"Em," I said. I wasn't usually shy, just nervous of new people; I'd been the victim of many traitors in my life.

"That's your name?" Blondie asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, its short for Emm-"

I was cut off by the bell.

"Well, it was nice meeting you all," I said and rushed off. The school day was mostly over and then I could go home.

Once school finally ended, I walked to my younger brother's kindergarten class and waited until they were let out. Once they were, we walked home together; we only lived a mile from the school so the walk wasn't horrendous as long as we took the path that avoided the older kids. I'd learned everything already about the sixth graders and how you shouldn't mess with them or, in general, be near them.

After we arrived home, I took him upstairs and set him up with his homework. Father usually arrived home from his new job at six and we usually got home at four; if we took the bus, we could get home much earlier, but I thought it was better to walk; I liked the cold and I was trying to teach Van the finer aspects of life at a young age.

After I knew Van understood the concept of the homework, I went to my own bedroom and pulled out my guitar; I always did my homework once everyone was asleep because I could focus better. I fiddled around on my guitar for a half hour until Van needed a snack. His snack time consisted of whatever I could conjure up in the cabinet or fridge. Today, I chopped up an apple for us to split and paired his half an apple with a quarter cup of porridge. We tried to eat healthy in our house, although I was the only one who would consider herself a vegetarian; I was told by my father to not mention it around Colorado because "people wouldn't understand." I wished to understand what that meant.

Father eventually returned home and I helped him cook dinner; after dinner, I went to my room and played video games for a few hours before completing my homework and going to bed. Tomorrow would be Friday, thankfully. This weekend would be amazing; I was getting to learn the general mapping of the area and was excited to venture down to Stark's Pond as well as checking out the local church to see what their beliefs were; I wasn't particularly religious, I just enjoyed community.

In the morning, I watched the news, did some yoga, and walked Van to school, however not before telling Father goodbye. Father worked nine to five, whereas we attended school seven to three. This was nice for him, because he got extra sleep while I cared for Van in the mornings. I didn't mind; unless he was sick, he was a low maintenance, kindhearted kid; he reminded me of mom in some ways.

At my old school, we would have a different teacher for each class, however here, I had the same one. His name was Mr. Garrison and he seemed somewhat… distressed, over the fact that he was a teacher. I don't think he enjoyed his job. Overall, however, he actually did know quite a deal of information. I enjoyed learning, somewhat, however it would've been nicer if he enjoyed his class more. Although, I think that could all be to blame on the kid in the red parka up front who talked to me yesterday. He would _always_ interrupt; he was clearly an attention seeking, spoiled brat. It drove his friends insane, especially the kid in the orange jacket, who would always bicker with him.

"Mr. Garrison, Kyle is picking on meeeeeee!" Red Parka whined.

"Eric would you shut the hell up," Mr. Garrison uttered; I was surprised he cursed at a fourth grader, but kept my mouth shut; maybe that's just the way things worked around here…

So, at least for recess I know a few things now. Red Parka is Eric; Orange Jacket is Kyle; and I think I heard Blondie be called Butters but that seemed weird, so I won't say anything until it's confirmed.

One thing was for sure, today at recess would be interesting, nonetheless.


	2. Chapter 2

The school day was fascinating leading up to recess; we had our first reports today, I did mine on Astronomy and it went over fairly well with at least half the class, particularly with Kyle and Blondie. Most of the class had normal reports, however when Eric presented his, it wasn't articulate at all. It was hateful, spiteful even and most of it was about Jewish culture, however the information was ridiculously off. He referenced Kyle in it many times as well, in a negative light; this surprised me because they seemed like pals. Before he was even half way completed, Mr. Garrison requested that he take his seat, to which he fussed. However, after the class nodded in agreement with Garrison, he became deflated and returned to his seat for the rest of the kids to present their reports. We made it through two thirds of the reports before the bell for recess rang. As per usual, I was the last out of the room since I took my belongings and politely strolled out instead of participating in the ambush to the door. Our recess was a half hour, anyways, who really wanted those extra precious seconds?

I went to my locker before going outside and stuffed my messenger bag inside of it; my classes didn't consist of nearly as many materials as back in New York, so I didn't need a huge backpack anymore. My back thanked me for that however my mind didn't; the learning scale in Colorado was most definitely different than NY; or at least, in South Park, anyways. It seemed as if only a few kids really grasped the concept of being a decent human here.

I opened a different door to exit outdoors today, since it was closer to the girl's bathroom that I had just exited from. Upon leaving the building, I was greeted by the Goth kids, who didn't seem too happy about my sudden accidental arrival into their territory.

"Who are you, conformist?" The female of the group asked; I liked her makeup; I felt insecure about doing my makeup since seldom girls did here in Colorado; everyone did back in NY. Hers was done heavily, however that was to fit in with the culture. I always somewhat enjoyed Goth culture, though never wished to participate in it, so I'd always admired the punks from afar. Their music was nice, though.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt; this door was just the closest to me."

"Don't do it again, conformist," A Goth with red bangs said and he clearly meant it.

"I won't," I overheard their music playing from what I assumed to be the Kindergartener's boom box. It recognized the guitar riff from it; heavy, but smooth. Before I left, I said, "I like your music."

I kept wandering until I was stopped by the boys from yesterday again.

"Wait, Em, come hang out with us," Blondie said. I felt bad, so I joined them.

I don't think the rest of the group was fully in par with what Blondie requested, but I didn't care.

"So, like, whe-where did y-you cuh-come from?" A kid in a yellow shirt with crutches asked.

"New York," I stated.

He smiled, "Tha-that's pretty cuh-cool."

"What's New York like?" Kyle asked.

"Loud," I said. "Busy."

"Do you like loud and busy?" He inquired.

I shook my head, "It's nice being somewhere laidback for once; it gives me time to focus on the things that matter. Although, it also makes me think about the past more, so I guess there's negatives to every positive to balance it out, y'know?"

Eric chimed in, "Damn, that was deep, dude; why don't you go hang out with the Goth kids or something? I saw you talking to them anyways."

I ignored that comment; so did the rest of the group; I couldn't help but assume that this was a reoccurring theme in his life and a small part of me felt bad.

"Mmmmprmh," One of the kids, who I had not seen yet, murmured, walking up to us. His coat covered his mouth and half his head, revealing his eyes. I mean, I knew it was cold but it wasn't catastrophically freezing, he didn't have to bundle so tightly. He looked at me upon engaging with the group, "Mmmph!"

"What?" I asked, taken aback. I couldn't hardly understand what he was saying with the damned coat covering his mouth.

"He said hello," The kid in the brown coat said. "That's Kenny."

I nodded, "Okay, hello, Kenny. Can you guys tell me your names so I don't get confused?"

After going through the cycle of the group, I learned the names of Eric, who everyone calls Cartman, but I think Eric suits him better, Kyle, Kenny, Stan, Jimmy, and Clyde. I was told that their group was usually larger but the rest of the kids in their group were either busy or had detention ie: Tweek, Craig, Timmy, Token, and several others whom I lost track of their names in the mix. I was surprised their group was so large; I started to think maybe they weren't losers; maybe the only loser in the group was Eric.

"Well, it's nice to meet you guys," I said.

The bell rang which indicated for us to go back inside. I started shuffling away as I did yesterday, however this time Kyle caught up to me.

"Hey, wait, Em! If you want to hang out with us, we'll be at my house tonight at seven," He said. "My mom is ordering us all pizza. I got the new Gamesphere so we're all just going to play games. If you're available, bring your sleeping bag; it'll be fun. Well, see ya."

Without giving me a chance to reply, he caught up with Stan and Kenny. They seemed really nice; all of them except Eric, but even he seemed to have a few amusing qualities. I didn't think I'd go though; I wasn't much for sleepovers. And I had to take care of Van and that in itself was going to take up most of my night.

The school day ended and I walked with Van home again. He told me about the finger painting they did and I told him about my project on the stars. When we arrived home, the same happened as the night before; I helped him with his homework and went to play guitar. When Father got home, I helped him make dinner. As I was washing the dishes, my Father got a call on the home phone; that's the second one we've received since we've been here; the first was from the school on my first week.

"Hello?" I heard him say from the living room. Van was in there with him, coloring on the floor as they watched Terrance and Phillip – that was my favorite show. "Oh, yes, she's here…. Oh, you didn't know she – yes, I see. Boys will be boys….. Yes, I'll let her know…. Bye." He hung up the phone. "Emma!"

I stopped doing dishes and walked into the living room.

"Your friend Kyle's mom just called and told me that you were invited to a sleepover tonight. Are you going to go?"

I shrugged.

"You should go make some new friends, hun; we've been here for three weeks already," He pleaded. I felt bad. I knew he only wanted what was best for me and I knew that he knew my life surrounded around making sure Van was happy. I had to cave in, even if it was just once. And, at least I enjoyed hanging out with the group thus far.

I sighed, "I'll go."

He smiled, "Okay, go get your things. I'll walk you over. Their house is only a few houses down from ours."

I packed my bag with a baggy shirt and shorts as well as a pair of fuzzy socks and of course my toothbrush. As I packed my bag, I fantasized over eating pizza and hoped that they would have normal, meatless pizzas. Although, I'm sure they'd have to have at least one for Kyle since I assumed he was Jewish and therefore kosher; doesn't that mean they don't eat certain meats? Oh well, I'd find out.

After packing my bag, I pulled over my long black coat and my combat boots and walked downstairs to let my Father know I was ready to go. He put Van to bed and we walked over to Kyle's house. When we reached the door, we were greeted by Kyle's mother who was very loud, however very kind. She had a Jersey accent; I'd been to Jersey once, it wasn't a bad place – at least, the south wasn't.

Father left and I walked inside; Kyle's mom brought me into the living room where the rest of the group was slowly forming. Thus far, there was Kyle, Kenny, and a boy in all blue who I assumed was one of the others they mentioned today.

"Hey, Em!" Kyle said. "Here, I'll show you where you can put your bag."

I followed him up the stairs and into his room. As we exited his room, he said, "That over there is my brother, Ike's room. He said that your brother is in his class, right?"

I nodded, "Probably, my brother Van is in Kindergarten."

"I think they're friends already; he said your brother is kind of shy though."

I chuckled, "Yeah, yeah he is."

We joined the others downstairs to find that Eric had just arrived.

"Hey, who's the new chick?" The kid in all blue said. "And, since when are we letting chicks into our group?"

"He's not a chick, Craig. This is Em," Stan said in my… defense? I mean, I was female. But, if they wanted to pretend I wasn't so I could hang out with them, whatever. They were probably nicer than the girls anyways, at least, I assumed so from experience.

"Who want's pizza?" Kyle's mom entered the room with trays of pizza freshly delivered and set them all on the coffee table. Kyle's dad walked in behind with a bottle of soda and cups. They both left after Kyle thanked them.

As Kyle set up his new gaming system, I talked to Jimmy and Tweek who had just arrived.

"Your parents own the coffee shop in town?" I asked, actually excited. "I've been to that place a few times already and it's my favorite."

"Yeah! It's- it's great!" Tweek exclaimed.

"I-I've nuh-never had cuh-coffee," Jimmy said.

"Well, maybe one day after school we can go there and you can try some," I said. "It's kind of strong, well at least the good stuff is, but you could start by trying a latte; they're awesome."

"A-awesome!" Jimmy grinned.

"Okay, there, it's ready to play!" Kyle smiled and everyone huddled around the television.

We played video games well into the night; I was even able to have pizza because all of them were cheese. The night went on well. Eventually, we all ended up in Kyle's room talking and playing with his remote control robot. As the night drew, Kyle's parents came in to tell us to start settling down for bed. Most of them all changed in the same room, but I had to go to the bathroom, so I brought my clothes with me to change in there. As I was changing my shirt, I heard the door opening, but before I could say anything it fully opened to reveal a very baffled and embarrassed Stan.

"Holy shit!" He closed the door as soon as he opened it.

I felt so embarrassed.


	3. Chapter 3

I finished getting dressed and awkwardly walked back into Kyle's bedroom. Nobody said anything to me; everyone was chatting amongst themselves except Stan who was staring at a wall. I thought it would be better to not talk to him after that uncomfortable exchange. I felt bad that I didn't think to lock the door behind myself, but I assumed everyone saw me walk out of the room.

I wondered if I should fake a stomach virus and go home; Father would know I was lying though and would be upset – not angry, just disappointed. He wanted me to be the lively child I was before Ted's death. I used to be much more open to the world; like I said before, I'm not shy, I just seldom feel the need to say much around most people.

Kyle made it apparent that we had to be as quiet as possible and he turned off his main light; in its place he lit a few candles.

"Candles are _so_ gay," Eric said, unimpressed.

"Shut up, dumbass," Kyle and Stan said at the same time. It was the first time Stan spoke since the incident; thankfully, however, this made him rejoin the group[CR1] .

The boys fell asleep one by one and each time, we'd become a quieter group until it was eventually just me, Kenny, and Kyle.

"In the morning," Kyle started whispering. "We should go out to Stark's Pond."

"That would be pretty cool," I replied quietly. That would be one thing off my weekend checklist taken care of, although I wondered when my Father would want me home. "But, I don't know how long I'm allowed to stay."

"We can go over your house and ask in the morning," Kenny said; earlier in the evening he had taken off his coat and was finally able to speak. Something told me he wore it most of the time, so it was surprising that he didn't wear it to sleep; although, Kyle's house was warmer than my own; his parents must be rich or something. It's not that we don't have heat, we can afford it, but we can't afford fancy heat and Colorado this time of year became freezing at night.

After about an hour, we collectively fell asleep. The next morning, we were awoken by a dramatic Eric who threw pillows at us.

"Wake up, guys!"

I was honestly surprised that the scenario wasn't the other way around; I expected Eric to never want to leave his bed, honestly – or rather, the floor, since everyone except Jimmy slept on the floor; however, nobody was upset with Jimmy, except Eric, because he must've had some painful back issues amongst other things.

We all slowly got ourselves together and headed downstairs in our pajamas; I put my socks on before going downstairs though, because it became colder as the morning air crisped the windows.

"What kind of girly socks are those, Em?" Eric taunted.

I rolled my eyes, "Exactly what you said, girly, Eric."

He scoffed, alarmed that I talked back to him, "What, are you gay or something?"

"What if I was?" I played back. "Who cares, dumbass."

"Guuuyyyyssss, Em called me a dumbasssss," Eric whined.

Nobody replied.

Kyle's mom had made us muffins and eggs for breakfast and I was honestly thrilled. I hadn't had a muffin in years ever since I took on an oath of health. Pizza and muffins, wow. I would have to eat just vegetables for the next few days for my body to not hate me and I didn't care because I was having fun for the first time in years, although, I would never admit it. I was still worried over Father and Van, however. It was Saturday, though, so hopefully they'd still be in bed; Father hardly cared for Van; I trusted him to do it but after Mother died, Van became attached to me and Ted; when Ted died, Van suffered as much as we all did, but being a child made it harder to understand. That's why I always worried over leaving him alone with Father.[CR2]

After we ate breakfast, Jimmy, Tweek, and Craig had to go home. Tweek and Jimmy gave me their home phone numbers in case I wanted to hang out again before Monday, which was nice; they were sweet. Craig was a little odd and standoffish, but I didn't mind him; his vulgarity was similar to Eric's, however his was never targeted towards any of our friends.

As we left the house, I kept insisting that I should go home to take care of Van, however, Kyle brushed it off and told me that his mom made plans with my Father to have Ike and Van hang out together this afternoon; that helped a bit; I trusted his mom.

We walked all the way to Stark's pond which was only a little past the school; I guess two miles in total from Kyle's house depending on which way you took and we took the longer way to avoid the sixth graders' territory. On our walk, we passed by the Goth girl's house; I could tell because she was outside with her brother. We didn't interact or smile at each other, however acknowledgement was made; I don't think she hated me. I hoped she didn't. I thought she was pretty cool; she was one of the few older kids I wasn't scared of.

Her brother, however, yelled out to Stan and Kyle, who waved back at him; I found out his name was Bradley. He seemed nice; awkward, but nice.

Stark's Pond would've been breathtaking if it wasn't completely littered. I hated litter; I saw it all the time in NY; my family was one of the few to always take recycling seriously; it was harder to recycle in South Park, however we still did amongst few other families, Kyle's family being one of them. During our vacations to the shore, I would always pick up litter at the beach before our family went swimming; it made me feel better about spending time at the beach if I took care of it first.

Nontheless, we sat on a bench and looked out, occasionally throwing rocks and making witty remarks. These were the first friends I'd made in a while, even though I only knew them a few days. I hoped they wouldn't learn to hate me for my awkwardness or my silence.

Eventually, Eric and Stan went home, which left me with Kenny and Kyle; they always seemed to stay the longest. It was quiet for a while, until Kyle spoke up.

"Are we the only friends you've made in school?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It's all because of Butters that I have friends. I really owe that kid."

"Mmmpph!" Kenny said, although I still couldn't decipher his muffled words.

"He's a really cool kid, a bit sheltered from his parents… He's always getting grounded for nothing. I worry about him sometimes," Kyle said.

"Why?" I asked.

He sighed, "Because Cartman always convinces him to go along with his schemes and it sucks. He's a good kid whose resorted to doing stupid shit so someone will hang out with him. I mean, we all like him, we just can't always keep up with his hyper activity; it isn't his fault either. It's because half the time he's trapped in his room."

I looked down at the ground, picked up a rock, and flung it into the ocean. Then I stood up.

"That really sucks."

And I took my leave.

"Mmmmph!"

"Where are you going?"

"To see what Butters is doing; I'll catch up later."

"Mmmmph!"

"Okay."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm sorry, Butters is with his cousins for the weekend," Butters' dad said upon answering the door. "Are you one of his friends? I haven't seen you around."

"I'm Emma," I said. "And, yeah, I'm new to South Park. Actually, your son is the reason that I have a few friends now. Well, it was nice chatting with you; I should be going now."

"Who's at the door, hun?" His mother asked behind the door.

"Oh, just a friend of Butters."

She walked up and smiled to me.

"My name's Emma."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Emma. I'm happy Butters is becoming friends with girls now; he's usually shy around them," She said.

"Come back any time, Emma," His dad said and I nodded and left.

His parents seemed nice; I didn't understand what Kyle meant but I knew he wasn't lying; I trusted him. Since I couldn't spend the day with Butters, I decided to go home and check on my family. Both were gone when I arrived home, oddly enough, so I dug out Jimmy's home number and rang.

"Hello?" A woman's voice spoke.

"Hi, is Jimmy there?"

"Yes he is, just one moment," I heard her yell for Jimmy to pick up the phone even though she muffled it with her hand.

The next thing I heard was a hello from Jimmy.

"Hey, Jimmy! It's Emma; do you want to come over later? We could go over to Tweek's parents' coffee shop together," I said.

"Shu-sure!" He exclaimed. "I'll be over in twe-twenty."

I gave him my address and hung up. I noticed that my Father left a note on the counter letting me know when he and Van would be home; it wouldn't be until six and it was noon now so that gave me five hours to hang out with Jimmy, go to Tweek's, and start dinner which was plenty of time. I went upstairs to grab my guitar and waited downstairs, playing it, until the doorbell rang.

"Hey!" I opened the door and let Jimmy in.

"H-hey!" He came in and sat on the sofa; I sat next to him. "You pla-play guitar?"

I nodded, "It's what I do when I'm not taking care of my brother, yeah."

"That's aw-awesome!"

"You're always so happy, Jimmy," I said.

"W-well, I have to be," He said. "Life is great and with new ad-adv-advances in science, I can be qui-quite handicapable!"

I smiled, a genuine smile, "You're the coolest person I've met in a long time, Jimmy."

"Th-thank you," He grinned, blushing slightly; I wondered how often he was told how awesome he was. Awkwardly, he included, "Now cuh-can we go try cuh-coffee?"

I nodded. He wanted me to bring my guitar, so I did. The walk to the coffee shop was really fun; Jimmy told me about his passion for comedy and even tested a few of his new jokes on me; he was really funny.

Upon entering Tweak's Bros. I walked to the counter.

"Hi, is Tweek here?" I asked the man, who I assumed to be his father.

"Yes, he's in the back bagging up some coffee. You two can go get him, if you'd like."

"Th-thanks," Jimmy said and the two of us walked in the back.

"Hey guys!" Tweek seemed hyper again. This morning he wasn't as hyper after a full nights' rest, but I assumed he'd been drinking coffee since he got here to help his parents.

"Tweek, do you ever take a break from coffee?" I asked

He thought for a minute and started to freak out.

"Tweek," I put my hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, man. Just breathe, relax. You don't have to answer."

"I, I drink coffee because it numbs me from all the bullshit going on in the world," Tweek said. "Everything going on; the coffee makes my brain wired and not think about it. And, anyways, my dad always makes me try the new coffee blends he creates; I don't really have a choice."

I was honestly baffled and asked, "Since when has this been a reoccurring thing?"

Tweek shrugged, "I don't know, since I was eight."

"Tw-two years," Jimmy said, as surprised as I was. "Da-damn."

"Um, so do you think your dad would let you take a break?" I asked. "I figured we'd grab Jimmy a coffee to try and go to the park?"

Tweek nodded, "Let me ask!"

He rushed out of the back, before we could catch up to him. By the time we caught up, his dad was telling him yes, which I was thankful for. Out of the inhumane ways he treated his son, at least he still was alright with his child being the kid he was.

"But, on your way home, can you pick up the stuff for me again, Tweek?"

"Yes, sir!" Tweak replied.

"Oh, Tweek, do be safe, sweetheart," His mom said, also from behind the counter; she seemed to be invested in crafting a latte.

"Do you guys want any coffee for the road?" His dad asked, referring to the two of us.

I nodded, "One small latte and one medium dark roast with two sugars would be awesome, sir."

After a few minutes, Mrs. Tweak gave us our beverages. As I tried to pay, Jimmy beat me to it with his wallet out.

"Oh, don't worry, kids, it's on the house today," Mr. Tweak said. "You already come here so often, Emma, and I'm happy that Tweek is making friends who aren't as reckless as some…" When he said this he glared at Tweek, who shuddered.

I tried to keep my composure, "Um, thank you, sir…. Well, we'll be going; we'll bring Tweek back in a few hours."

"Stay safe!" Mrs. Tweak called out to us as we left.

The walk to the park wasn't far; I held both mine and Jimmy's coffee and had my guitar case strapped to my back. Tweek was quiet for the walk as Jimmy and I chatted quietly amongst ourselves; I planned on asking Tweek what his father meant when the time was right, but not now, not in front of Jimmy. I didn't know how well of friends the two of them were and I didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

We made it to the park within five minutes; it was a pretty busy place. We took our seats in the grass across from the basketball courts and near the playground. I gave Jimmy his latte and pulled my guitar out of its case. Tweek had started talking again; it seemed as if the park eased him, or maybe it was being away from his parents' coffee shop that calmed his nerves. He seemed slightly overworked, but I didn't want to say anything about it.

As the two of them conversed, I gently strummed my guitar and stared out at all the kids playing. Amongst the kids playing, I caught eye of Kyle's brother and mom; soon after I also saw Van and Father and wondered if they'd noticed me. I figured, if they noticed me, okay, but I wasn't going to go over there; I wanted them to have bonding time and it seemed as if Van was having fun with Ike; I was happy.

"Isn't that your brother over there?" Tweek asked.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "How'd you guess?"

"Well, you both have the same face," He said.

I laughed, "I guess, but I'm not a bo–"

"Emmy!" Van called out and ran over to us. Father followed in suit, with Ike and his mom on his tail.

"Hey, kiddo," I put my guitar down and hugged him. "Having fun with your new friend?"

"Yeah!"

Father spoke up, "I'm happy you're getting out of the house, too, Em."

"Well, yeah, I mean, I was going to go home soon and clean the house, but–"

I was cut off, "Don't worry about it, kiddo."

I looked down feeling awkward.

"So, who are your friends?"

I looked back up, "Oh, that's Tweek and that's Jimmy."

"Ni-nice to me-meet you, sir," Jimmy stuttered out the best he could.

"Yeah, hey," Tweek followed.

"Well, you three have fun," Father said and the group went back to the playground.

Feeling awkward, I pulled my guitar out again and strummed while the boys watched me; I think they were surprised that at eleven I could even play the guitar. The afternoon was peaceful.


	5. Chapter 5

That evening, after Jimmy went home, I accompanied Tweek to get what his dad needed him to get. We walked towards the railroads, past all of our houses, until we found what looked like an abandoned house. I was skeptical, but trusted Tweek to know where we were going. We walked up to the garage door that was slightly separated from the house and he knocked on it. It opened to reveal what I assumed to be drug dealers. Tweek handed them an envelope and he was handed a bag of substance which I didn't even want to ask what it was.

As we were leaving, I looked into the backyard of the house and saw Kenny, an older boy, and a younger girl; I assumed those were his siblings, which meant this was his house. They didn't have any toys outside, they were simply playing tag. I understood now why Kenny was always freezing; his family was incredibly poor; their house looked to be crumbling and all they seemed to have was themselves. I made a mental note to get to know Kenny better, since he seemed so nice and it was unfortunate the situation he was placed in.

We didn't have time to stop though, in fact, Tweek's pace quickened as he put the bag of substance into his coat. Maybe he was nervous to be carrying drugs with him; I know I would be. We made it back to his family's coffee shop right as the sun was setting.

"Good, Tweek," Mr. Tweak said.

"Did you have fun, sweetie?" Mrs. Tweak asked.

The two of them were closing up for the day and cleaning the equipment. I needed to get home soon.

"Yeah!" He said. "Em and I went to –"

"Good, now go clean up the back," Mr. Tweak said. Wow, two minutes back and his dad only cares about his store.

"I'd better get going. It was nice hanging out, Tweek," I said. I didn't want to stir trouble, but I wished there was something I could do to help Tweek; he seemed to be at odds with his dad. Maybe I'd ask Father if there was anything we could do to help him.

The way home was dark; there were hardly any lamps, even on Main Street. I walked past many drunkards, which made me nervously quicken my pace. Thankfully, nothing happened and I was able to retreat back to my house safely; I hoped I would never have to endure the outdoors after dark alone again.

"Hey, sweetie, how was your day?" Father asked, whilst cooking dinner. I felt bad that I wasn't home to help, but I know he was happy that I was making friends, so he probably didn't mind as much as I did.

"Good," I said. "Where's Van?"

"Oh, he's having a sleepover with Ike!" Father said, almost giddily. "Mrs. Broflovski said that you were so well mannered that Van was also welcome to stay over anytime."

"I'm welcome to stay over anytime?" I asked, surprised. Nobody ever told me that before; it was usually quite the opposite, although I seldom befriended others.

"Of course, sweetie," He said. "You're a better kid than you let yourself believe. Anyways, dinner is done if you want some; I made pasta with a vegetable glaze."

I walked fully into the kitchen to greet the lovely smelling food and made a bowl for myself. The both of us took our bowls into the living room and watched Terrance and Phillip while we ate.

"Hey, dad," I said as the show was coming to a close.

"Yeah?" He asked, as he took both of our bowls into the kitchen.

"My friend Tweek – his dad is kind of hard on him," I said. "I didn't want to say anything because we're so new here, but I feel bad. I mean, the kid's trying his best but his dad expects so much out of him." I left out the part about having to go get drugs – what was he using it for anyways?

"Hmm, that's a tough one sweetie," He pondered. "Tell you what, sometime this week, I'll leave work early and pick you up from school and we'll go get coffee and if I see anything amiss, then I'll speak up about it."

"Thanks, dad," I hadn't called him dad in a while. It was odd, but it felt right. I'd put so much heat on him after Ted died. It was going to be hard getting used to it again, though.

He came back into the living room and we started up the next episode of Terrance and Phillip.

"I think this is going to be a good town for us, sweetheart," Dad said.

"I think so, too," I replied, quietly.

The next day, I slept in until well into the afternoon and once I finally did wake up, I used the day to finish up all my homework for Monday; the night before I had stayed up late watching television with Father and then we jammed on our guitars together; we hadn't hung out like that in ages and it was honestly exhilarating. I hoped that it would only keep getting better. By the time that Monday morning rolled around, I was actually somewhat excited to go to school; my walk to school with Van was peaceful; it wasn't as cold today so we took our time and admired nature. As we passed by the Goth girl's house, her and her brother Bradley were walking out the door. I stopped Van and waited for them, much to her surprise and Bradley's excitement.

"Mind if we walk with you?" I asked.

Van seemed a little skeptical and tried to hide behind me but Bradley's warm smile and 'hello' was enough to distract him from the Goth girl.

"Um, I guess that's not so lame," She said.

"Cool, my name's Emma, by the way," I introduced as we began walking.

"I knew you were a chick," She commented. "Everyone thinks you're a dude, you know? I'm Henrietta."

"Really? Is that why the guys are hanging out with me?" I asked, honestly shocked.

She shrugged, "I guess. Anyways, you like Manson?"

I nodded, "Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"Oh, that's Pete's favorite," She said. "We were playing it the other day when you walked by us."

Oh, that was where the riff was from; it was a cool song, but I didn't think she'd remember me saying something so subtly.

"Cool," I said, because I didn't have anything better to say.

Once we arrived at school, she told me, "Oh, um, if you don't have anyone to hang out with at lunch, meet us near our steps; we always ditch and go to the diner."

"Will I be back in time for class?" I asked.

"Probably," She said and then disappeared into the hall.

I went to class to be greeted by Eric, Butters, and Clyde; the rest weren't there yet since class didn't start for another five minutes.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" I greeted. "Butters, how was your weekend, we didn't see you at Kyle's sleepover."

"My weekend was good; I spent time with my cousins and aunt; it was really fun," He said, enthusiastically.

"That's great," I said, "What about you two? How'd you spend your weekend?"

"I went on a few dates," Clyde bragged. "Bet you can't get any girls, huh, new kid? If you want, I'll teach you sometime."

"Um, no thanks, I'm good," I said, politely. He seemed to switch personalities a lot, especially when he had girls on his mind; I'd deciphered this from only knowing him for a few days, too.

"Don't worry, Clyde," Eric said. "Em is gay anyways. He wears girly socks."

 _So they do think I'm a guy!_

"Why were you checking out Em's socks?" Clyde asked condescendingly. "Doesn't that make you kind of gay, too?"

"Well, even if I was gay, Em is gross, man," Eric said.

"So, you are gay," Craig said, joining in the conversation as he and a few others entered the classroom.

"No, I am not!" Eric said.

"Yeah, Eric isn't gay, he has a crush on Heidi!" Butters exclaimed, which made Eric turn bright red and shut up.

"Score one, Butters," I chuckled.

"Shut up!" Eric whined.

Mr. Garrison took his place in the front of class and said, "Settle down, kids." which made everyone sit in their seats, quietly. "Today, we will be learning basic math skills."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. This was my most dreaded subject and has always been. Kyle noticed this and turned around to face me.

"Don't worry, I get better grades in math than anyone in here," He whispered. "Well, besides Timmy, he's pretty smart. So, I'll help you."

I smiled, "Thanks."

"Kyle!" Mr. Garrison yelled. "Do you have something to share with the class?"

Kyle turned around, flustered, "Um, no, Mr. Garrison, sorry!"

"Well then leave her alone, jeesh."

"Her? But – wait, Mr. Garrison, he's –"

"Kyle shut your trap!" Mr. Garrison yelled.

"Yes, sir."

Kyle was quiet for the rest of class, even when Eric piped up and tried to harass him; I guess he felt bad for getting in trouble. The bell rang for lunch and as I was leaving, Jimmy came up to me.

"Hey, um, do yuh-you wah-want to sit with me and Craig for luh-lunch?"

Do I hang out with the Goth kids or with Jimmy and Craig? The thought raced in my mind as I tried to think of an answer; there was always recess and Henrietta was nice – it might be my shot into making friends with similar music taste as me….

"Why don't we hang out at recess, Jimmy? I was already asked to hang out with someone else during lunch." I felt bad telling him no, because besides Kyle, he was one of the few really nice ones who talked to me. But, there was always recess.

"Okay, see you," Jimmy said and caught up with Craig and Clyde, who were waiting for him.

What if I regretted my decision?


	6. Chapter 6

I met Henrietta and the rest of the Goth kids by their cubby outside; the air was crisp but not as crisp as morning air – it was subtly crisp, nice.

"Hey, conformist, what're you doing here?" The tallest one asked; his hair was covered in black, probably dyed, curls and he wore a white button down with a tailcoat; however, that wasn't what surprised me – what did was the fact that he carried a cane, however his weight was hardly leaned onto it. I wondered if it was prop or necessity.

"Um…" I didn't know what to say; I guess Henrietta didn't tell the others of my invitation. Should I say never mind and run back to hang out with the boys?

"I asked if she wanted to chill," Henrietta said, glaring at him. "Is that alright?"

"She?" They all gasped.

"Um, yeah, I'm a chick…" I said, awkwardly. "I don't understand what gives everyone the impression that I'm a dude."

"Pull down your hood," Henrietta said.

I did. I kept my hood down when I was inside, but always put it up outside.

"You tie your hair back, that's why," She said. "And you don't coat your face in makeup like the rest of the girls."

I shrugged, "I used to dress nice and wear makeup, but the weather here is always so cold and wet that I just never put in the effort."

"Are you sure that's the reason?" Henrietta asked.

I shrugged, again. "It doesn't matter." I put my hood back up. "Let's get going."

We walked for a little ways in a different direction than I'd ever been in until we came across a small diner. I'd never seen the diner on any maps before so I was surprised that it was even a real thing. We walked inside and got access to the long, round booths, which I'd always wanted to sit at. When the woman came over to take everyone's order, it seemed as if she knew that they'd all want coffee. When she got to me and I also said coffee, she rolled her eyes and mumbled something rude while walking away.

"You drink coffee too?" The Goth with the red streaks asked.

I nodded, "Yeah. It's one of my favorite things. I've spent a lot of time studying at Tweak Bros. the past few weeks."

The tall Goth sighed, "You know what that guy puts in his coffee, right?"

"No?" I asked. What did he even mean?

"Drugs," The kindergartener said, somberly.

"Holy shit, I knew something was up," I said. "Tweek was forced to go to some sketchy building near Kenny's house last night to pick up something."

"You hang out with Tweek?" The Red Goth asked. "That kid's a spaz."

"At least he's not a total conformist," Henrietta added.

"True," The tall Goth and kindergartener nodded.

The waitress came back with our coffee and the sugar I requested on the side and left without saying a word.

I added two sugars to my cup, stirred, and took a sip into sweet bliss.

"You know, if you want to be like us, you have to drink your coffee black," The tall Goth said.

"I'm not trying to conform," I said and took another sip, unfazed.

"Damn," Henrietta said.

It was quiet for a few minutes.

"So, the only person's name I know here is Henrietta but you all know my name," I said awkwardly.

"Pete."

"Michael."

"Firkle."

"Cool," I nodded. "So, what are your hobbies?"

"Poetry," Michael said.

"Graveyards," Pete said.

"Non-conformists," Firkle said.

I nodded, "Mmmhmm."

They seemed cool, but they also seemed like they were trying too hard to not fit in with society; while I admired their efforts and enjoyed their company, it seemed as if they had a troubled past or home life or something. I wasn't going to ask, but it just seemed a little off putting for them to be so dark, even for Goths.

We finished our coffee after a few minutes, paid our bill, and walked back to school in time for recess, which meant that I missed part of class. I hoped that they wouldn't find out and call my dad. I walked out to the playground to find Jimmy, Craig, Clyde, and Butters.

"Hey, guys," I said.

"Oh, um, hey, Em," Butters said, awkwardly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well, um, Wendy told us that you're a girl," He said.

"Yeah, of course I am," I said. "And who's Wendy?"

"Stan's girlfriend."

That made sense; Stan caught me while I was changing, so he must've panicked and told Wendy, thinking that I was intentionally hiding my gender from the boys.

"Oh, cool," I said. "I mean, this doesn't change anything, right?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Craig said sarcastically. "You basically lied to us so we'd be your friend, new kid."

"I didn't lie!" I said, frustrated. "I kept trying to correct you guys, but none of you would listen."

"Just go hang out with the girls," Clyde said.

"Jimmy?" I pleaded. He couldn't turn on me too.

Jimmy looked at the guys who glared at him and then looked down at the ground. "S-s-sorry, Emma."

As if it was my lucky day, the sky started to sprinkle down rain; first it was slow and then it became heavy and the snow started to slowly melt around me. I was thankful that and my hood covered up my tears. I ran off to find the Goth kids, who were the only ones who seemed to accept me.

"Hey, back so soon, new kid," Pete said, turning down his music; he'd covered his boom box with a black towel to shield it from the rain.

I didn't say anything. I just sat down with my head between my knees and cried. But, I knew, at least being with them, nothing else could go wrong for the time being. They let me be and didn't say anything and eventually the bell rang for recess to end. I sulked inside, considering to feign sick and go home but didn't want dad to worry. So, I just sucked it up and went back to Mr. Garrison's class. However, upon entering class, he gave me a surprised look and told me to go to the principal's office for skipping English, which was, ironically, the only subject I cared for.

I ended up in the principal's office with the Goth kids for skipping. I'd met Principal Victoria once in my time at South Park Elementary and it was on my first day of school; she was kind to me then however today she glared at me like I was just as bad as the rest of the Goths; but I wasn't Goth, I just wanted friends – friends who would still be my friend even if I was a girl.

"I assume you all know why I called you down," Principal Victoria said. "I've already alerted all your parents of your skipping class."

I sighed and looked down at the floor. The rest of the Goths just stared at her, as if they were used to this, as if getting in trouble was a daily thing for them.

"You four may wait in the lobby for your parents; I'd like to speak with Emma, please."

Henrietta and Michael gave me a look of mourning, but I ignored it as the four of them left.

"Now, why would you go and hang out with the Goth kids, Emma? There's so many nice girls at this school."

"They all thought I was a boy," I sighed. "I tried to correct them but they wouldn't listen. And, so I became friends with a few of the boys and then this Wendy girl told them I was a girl and now they won't talk to me anymore."

"Well, why don't you talk to Wendy? She's a nice girl, I'm sure she didn't mean you any harm. She probably just wanted to make sure the boys knew since they weren't listening to you about it."

"I don't know. Can I just go back to class?"

She sighed, "No, unfortunately, your Father is coming to get you."

"Can I go wait in the lobby with them?" I asked.

"Yeah, I suppose so," She nodded.

I went into the hall with the Goth kids.

"What's going on, Emma?" Pete asked, stressed out.

"It's nothing."

"You're lying," Henrietta said. "You were crying earlier after we got back from lunch."

"I don't have friends anymore. You were right, they all thought I was a guy and when Wendy told them I was a girl, they got weirded out or something and just left."

"That sucks," Firkle added.

"Yeah, goddamned conformists," Michael said.

"It's okay, guys," I said. "Maybe I'll try to meet this Wendy girl and maybe I'll just become friends with them or something. I mean, I am a girl; I'm supposed to hang out with other girls, right?"

Henrietta shrugged, "You do you, girl."

Father picked me up and brought me home. The car ride was silent; Principal Victoria had already called him and informed him of our conversation, so he was aware of the circumstance and probably assumed that's why I ditched school, which I didn't mind him thinking. I didn't want him to think I was friends with delinquents, because I really enjoyed hanging out with the Goth kids and didn't want him to put a damper on my only friends.

When we got home, he said he wasn't mad at me and let me go to my room as he headed back to work to finish the rest of his shift. I could tell he was disappointed, but I don't think it was directly in me. I think he was just upset to see me upset. He told me that I should still go pick up Van, which of course I told him I would. That would be an hour from now, so I played guitar until I had to walk over to get him.

During my walk to get Van, I was stopped by a sixth grader who must have ditched school early.

"Where are you going, punk?" He said, threateningly, as he hovered over me.

"To pick my brother up from school, asswipe," I said, in no mood to tango. Usually, I'd feel threatened by them, but today I didn't.

"Well, you're going to have to take a detour first," He said as he gripped my hood from the front and pulled me up to his level.

"Let me go," I demanded, unafraid.

"Sorry, can't do that." He was strong and it made me wonder what he was going to do.

"Let her go!" A voice from behind demanded. It sounded like a girl.

The sixth grader turned around, freaked, and threw me to the ground as he ran off. With Stan stood a girl a bit older than him with braces and an angered look on her face.

"Nice one, Shelly," He said to her. He then turned to me, "You alright, new kid?"

"Yeah, I guess," I said. "I've got to get to the school before Van thinks that I abandoned him."

Before I ran off, Stan said, "Wait! I didn't mean to make you lose your friends. Come over my house tonight, we need to talk about a way to fix this."

"Okay," I said in passing and ran to find my brother.


	7. Chapter 7

I finally arrived at the school to find Kyle and Ike waiting with Van.

"Hey, kiddo," I said, grasping Van into a hug. "I'm sorry I'm late. How was school?"

"Good," He smiled.

"How about you?" I turned to Kyle.

"Um, it was alright," He said, looking down at his feet.

"Please don't tell me you're upset with me, too," I sighed.

He shrugged, "Not too much, just in shock. My mom said you were a girl but I didn't believe her. I guess we just didn't listen when you told us. It really sucks that the others are treating you weird, though. Me, Stan, and Kenny don't really mind though and Wendy feels really bad; I know you don't know her, but she wants to apologize to you. She said if she knew that they'd treat you bad, she would've let you tell everyone yourself."

"Listen, we've got to get going," I sighed. "Look, I'll be at Stan's tonight after dinner if you want to come; he thinks he can help, but it doesn't matter… see you."

Once we arrived home, I did my homework, helped Van with his, cleaned my bedroom up for brownie points, and made and cleaned up dinner. Afterwards, I put my dark burgundy coat on and went downstairs. Van and dad were watching Terrance and Phillip; I felt bad, but I had to interrupt their bonding time.

"Um, hey, dad," I said, pulling his attention from the screen.

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"Can I go over Stan's for a little?" I asked. "I'll be back by ten."

He thought for a moment, "I don't know sweetie. It's a school night."

"Please," I sighed.

"Look, I just don't want you turning into a delinquent. After that stunt you pulled today, I don't know if I can trust you going out."

"His house is literally that way!" I pointed. "It's less than a two minute walk."

He sighed and was silent for a minute, "Do what you must. But next time you get in trouble, I won't be there to save you, got it?"

I groaned and stormed out of the house, frustrated. Maybe I wouldn't go home that night, who knows. I was so damn aggravated; life was getting better, finally. If I had a cell phone, I would've texted Stan, but I wasn't allowed to have one for another year. After getting a bit lost, I finally located his house and knocked on the door.

The girl from the afternoon opened the door and greeted me.

"Hi, I'm Shelly," Her voice was hindered from her braces, but nonetheless she seemed nice; anyways, she did help me in my time of need.

"Hi, I'm Emma," I greeted and she invited me in.

"Hey, Emma," Stan greeted, coming down the stairs. "Sorry, is Shelly bothering you?"

"Shut. Up. Twirp!" She huffed and left the room.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Oh, you don't want to know," He shook his head. "Anyways, let's get up to my room before my dad finds us."

"Why–"

"Oh, hey Stan, who's your friend?" An older man wearing blue entered the room from what appeared to be their kitchen.

"Oh good lord," Stan sighed.

"Lorde?" The man said, surprised. "Lorde is a _great_ singer, Stan, not just a _good_ singer. You just don't know how to appreciate good music!"

"Randy!" A female voice yelled from the kitchen.

"Sorry, Sharon," He called back to her, dejectedly.

"Dad, listen we have to work on homework," He said, trying to slowly pull me upstairs.

"Okay, you two have fun," He sighed and sat on the sofa, pouting.

That's when we made our retreat upstairs and into his room. Kyle and Kenny were already there, in their pajamas. It seemed as if they were prepared to sleep over.

"Wendy is supposed to come over if her dad lets her out of the house," Kyle said, upon greeting me.

"Which probably won't happen," Stan said, in response.

"Mmmpph," Kenny said, still adorned in his coat.

"Kenny, take off your hood," Stan requested.

"Mmmphh! Mmmmpphhhh!"

"Sorry, jeez," Stan said.

"I don't understand a damned word you say with that hood on, Kenny," I sighed.

Hesitantly, he pulled it off but kept the coat on.

"Wow, you'll listen to a girl but not us," Kyle said.

There was a knock on Stan's door; he opened it to find Eric.

"Cartman, what the hell? I thought you were Wendy."

"Ew, I'm not a chick, asshole," He said and stormed in, taking a seat between me and Kyle. "So, you guys thought you could have a party without me?"

"Not a party, asshole," Stan said. "We're trying to comfort Emma."

"Emma?" Eric questioned. "You mean Em? Emma's a chick's name, dude."

I chuckled deeply and took off my hood. They'd seen me without my hood before but I didn't take my hair out of the knot for our sleepover; knotting my hair into a bun was so much easier, however I took it out and fluffed out my hair to its normal curly state and looked at him.

"Holy shit dude," Eric exclaimed. "Clyde was fuckin right… well either that, or you're a dirty ass hippie!"

I laughed again, this time for a solid thirty seconds.

"Cartman, you're such a dumbass," Kyle said.

"Hey shut up or I'm going to tell on you!" Eric whined.

"Its okay, Eric, chill," I said. "We're all friends here, get over it."

Eric stared at me, momentarily baffled, before he huffed and left.

"Damn," Kenny said.

"You made him leave," Stan said.

"Nice one," Kyle grinned.

We gossiped for another hour or two, before I looked up at a clock and saw that it was past ten.

"Shit, shit shit."

"What?" Kenny asked.

"I told my dad I would be home at ten and he's already pissed at me and hates me and," I started crying; I didn't mean to, but after the day I had I think it was well deserved.

"Hey, it's okay," Stan comforted.

"It's been a long day," Kyle said.

"Yeah it has," Stan agreed. "Why don't you stay here? It's supposed to blizzard tonight, anyways, so we might not even have school tomorrow."

"I don't know…" I thought about it. What else did I have to lose? "I mean, I guess…"

"Awesome," Kenny said, enthusiastically.

"Wow, Kenny, you seem overly happy," Stan commented in a weird way.

"Yeah. Kenny, ever since you found out she was a girl, you've been acting strange," Kyle grinned, playing into Stan's torment.

"Yeah, Kenny's what's that about?" Stan pressed.

"Whatever," Kenny huffed.

I yawned.

"Em's right, I need sleep," Kyle said, yawning as well.

Stan nodded in agreement.

We all outstretched on the ground with blankets and talked for a bit longer before Kyle and Stan fell asleep.

"So, Kenny, why do you hardly ever talk?" I asked.

He shrugged. _Figures_.

"I saw you outside the other day when I was with Tweek."

"What?"

"Yeah, he had to pick up something from your… neighbors?" I wasn't sure. "And, I saw you outside with your siblings."

"Oh."

"How do you do it?" I asked.

"Do what?"

"Live in a house that's almost fallen to the ground with a smile on your face."

He shrugged, "You do it for your family. My sister–" He stopped.

"She means the world to you, doesn't she?" I asked.

"My brother and my dad can fend for themselves and don't really care about the world, but my mom, my sister – they need someone who cares."

"I'd like to meet them one day," I said, a small smile forming on my face.

"Yeah, Karen would like that," He smiled; he didn't smile often unless he was laughing at Eric's expense. "She doesn't have many friends because people tease her for being dirty and quiet."

"You and her should come over for dinner some time, well you know… once my dad doesn't want to rip my head off… it might be a while, though…" I trailed off.

"You shouldn't worry about that," He sighed.

I yawned, my eyes drooping, "I have to. They're all I've got. I just feel like I do everything for them and all I get in return is shit. I thought things were getting better too; it seemed as if my dad was really being a dad finally, but… I don't know. He's closer with Van now, I guess, so that's all that matters."

"No, it isn't."

"Hmm?"

"You matter too, Em."

Not long after that I trailed off into a deep sleep; I'd assume Kenny did the same.


	8. Chapter 8

Morning came and with it brought panic into my gut as realization hit that I wasn't in my bed and didn't even call my Father last night to tell him where I was. I wondered if Van even slept last night; I hoped he did; he always had separation anxiety. Fearful, I grabbed my coat, shimmied on my boots and ran out the door to my house. My door was unlocked, which scared me, since it was still dark out. Upon entering the house, I found Father slumped on the sofa, half empty bottle of wine in hand; he never drank, but when he did, it was usually a glass or two of red wine. The bottle he was holding was originally unopened; he'd received it as a gift and we were going to cook with it for Christmas.

"Dad?" I walked up to him, hesitant.

"Hmmmm….." He mumbled.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

After a few moments, he groggily sat up and put his head between his hands.

"Where were you?" He asked, grimly.

"Stan's."

"Oh, what, so you think that you can just sleepover any boy's house since you slept over Kyle's?"

"No, but–"

"Enough," He silenced. "What time is it?"

I looked down at my watch, "5 in the morning."

"Get ready for school," He stood up, brushing crumbs off of himself. "I need to figure some shit out."

"Dad, what's going on?" I knew it was more than just me not coming home – if it were that, he would have walked to Kyle's house and asked where I was. After he didn't answer, I raised my voice. " _Dad_ , what the hell is going on?"

His whole body jerked back onto the sofa, as he shed a few tears.

"Please tell me."

"I lost my job," He sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't know how long we can stay here anymore. Just… go get ready for school; wake Van up too."

I didn't know what to say so I did as he wished. I woke Van up, got him ready, and then got myself ready. By the time we returned downstairs, dad had left; even the car was gone. I hoped he was okay; I didn't want to leave South Park, friends or no friends; I made more memories here than I ever did in NY. We didn't have time for breakfast, so I grabbed Van an apple and left on an empty stomach, with just a coffee in hand. I was silent on the walk to school, only responding when Van would ask me a question.

Upon entering my classroom, I ignored the boys who would probably ignore me anyways, and went to my desk; they probably assumed I was sulking over the loss of their friendship. However, when Kyle, Stan, and Kenny finally arrived at school, I knew they'd make me talk, so I engrossed myself in a book and pretended to read.

"Emma, are you even listening?" Stan's voice zapped me out of the book after a few tries and I sighed, putting it down.

"What?" My voice was meek.

"You left without a word," Kyle said. "We were scared."

"Sorry," I picked my book back up, however was interrupted by Kenny who took it from me.

"Mmmph!"

"Okay, what the hell guys?" I huffed.

"What's wrong?" Stan asked.

"Nothing," I insisted, trying to get my book back from Kenny.

"What the hell?" Kyle exclaimed. "Is this about those idiots not talking to you anymore?"

"No! My dad lost his damn job, okay? I'm going to have to go back to NY to live with my cousins because he probably can't find a new one."

I was loud enough that the entire room around me silenced. Tears ran down my face and I hurried out of the room. I went out back to where the Goth kids smoked before class and sat down on the steps with them.

"Emma, what's up?" Henrietta asked; her tone could tell I was distraught.

"My dad lost his job and I have to move and I'm miserable," I cried, laying my head on my knees.

"Shit," Pete murmured.

"What can we do?" Michael asked.

I sighed, "Nothing, I was just sick of them talking to me."

"Who?" Firkle asked.

Before I could answer, I heard the door open. I didn't look up to see who it was.

"Get lost," Michael told whoever it was. "She wants to be left alone, conformists."

"Emma, we're sorry," Stan said and I looked up. It was him and a girl with dark hair. I guess he told the others to stay inside, because I know they'd try to pull this stunt too. "I'm sorry that your dad lost his job and I'm sorry that some of the guys in there are idiots and stopped being your friend and I'm sorry that your life sucks."

"But we want to help," The girl said; her voice was higher pitched than Henrietta's or mine; dainty, even.

"This is Wendy," Stan said. "She overheard us in class and wants to help."

I sighed, "I don't need help, but thanks."

"Yeah, just leave her alone," Henrietta said.

"Yeah," Pete nodded.

Stan went inside, dejected, however Wendy stood her ground; she wasn't going to leave unless I gave in and I didn't want the Goth kids to be mad or insult her, so I stood up.

"Let's go for a walk," She said and I followed; we only went to the backyard of the school, however it was still a large plot of land to walk in.

"My mom can help your dad get a temporary job, until he finds one in whatever field he works in," She said. "I want to help. It's the least I can do after all the guys stopped talking to you. You and your family can come over for dinner tomorrow night and we can work it out; my mom works business, but I think your dad could get a temp job in her office."

I nodded, "I guess that could work. Thanks."

"Anytime," Wendy said. Before I walked away, she caught my shoulder. "And, you shouldn't hide who you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She gestured towards my hood, "You hide yourself; Stan told me that you told him you used to wear makeup and do your hair in New York; well, if that's what you like, you should do it here; it doesn't matter what the other girls think of you, even if some of them don't wear makeup yet. You know by middle school, they'll all be doing it anyways."

I sighed, "Maybe… thanks."

I appreciated her gesture; I truly did, however I didn't know how I'd convince my Father to go over to dinner with her parents; he was never one for handouts…

Hey guys, first author's note. Thanks to everyone who has been reading this story, I apologize that this is a small chapter, however another should be up either tonight or tomorrow. If you like it, please follow/favorite and leaving reviews to tell me your thoughts (good or bad) is always awesome too!

Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9

Until lunch, I didn't talk to anyone. However, as I walked into the lunch room, Wendy caught my arm and asked if I wanted to sit with them. I shrugged and agreed, since it was either that or be ignored by half the guys' lunch table. I wanted to go get coffee with the Goth kids, since I never really ate lunch anyways, but I didn't want dad to worry any more than he already was.

"Okay, girls, this is Emma," Wendy introduced as we approached the large table of giggling females. I was nervous.

"Hi," I said, uncomfortable.

We both sat down towards the end of the long table.

"Emma, this is Bebe, Millie, Nelly, Nichole, Jenny, Annie," I lost track as she went down of all the girls names. "And Heidi."

 _Heidi_. That name stuck out but I couldn't remember why; I felt like it had something to do with Eric, honestly… we didn't talk much, though, so who knew…

"It's nice to meet you guys," I smiled and picked up my apple. They didn't serve coffee at the school, but they did have canned green tea, so I opted for that; it had too much sugar though, and when I took a sip it made me cough a bit.

"You alright?" Wendy asked.

I nodded. I took off my hood and let my mangled hair loose as I ate with the girls. They were kind of cool, I guess.

"Um, you guys are cool," I began. "But, you guys only hang out with other fourth graders… I don't get it."

"Um, Emma, we're _girls_ , not guys," Bebe said, offended. "So, _please_ refer to us as such."

"What?" I looked at them weird.

"Yeah, she's right, Emma," Wendy said. "That's just how it is nowadays."

"Oh, um, sorry," I looked down again, confused. Since when was Colorado a politically correct state? And since when did it matter to refer to a group as 'guys' when most people do it anyhow?

"Girls, let her be," Heidi said.

"Yeah," Nichole added. "She's used to hanging out with the boys, so just cut her some slack."

"You're right, girls," Bebe sighed. "I'm sorry."

"No worries," I smiled, but only to appease them; I didn't care. I wanted to hang out with the boys or the Goth kids at this point.

The school day progressed quickly and I was able to go home with Van and work on my guitar; he said he didn't need homework help, so I trusted him but told him that my room was right around the corner if he needed me. I made sure to have the living room cleaned for dad's arrival home. When he finally did arrive home, he seemed impossible to talk to.

"So, how was your day?" I asked. He didn't answer. This went on for twenty minutes, before I gave up and blurted, "We have to go over Wendy Testaburger's house for dinner tonight because her mom is willing to hire you."

That caught his attention quickly; thankfully.

"Really?" The light was there, very vaguely, in his eyes. Hope.

"Yeah, so can you get ready so we can all go? I know where her house is. It's only a small walk away."

He nodded, "Just give me twenty, sweetheart."

Triumphantly, I ran upstairs to make Van get dressed into his outerwear – to which he fought me on – however, eventually, I won and we were all ready to leave. We weren't dressed fancy, just respectable. Wendy told me that her parents dressed like that; very reserved and modest, so I did the same.

Dad knocked on their door twice before receiving an answer.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear, the doorbell isn't working," Mrs. Testaburger chuckled. "It's nice to meet you all; I assume you're the Clarks'?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. Dad was nervous, so I took the lead.

"Well, come right in," We did as she said. "Emma, is it, right? Wendy is upstairs if you want to greet her. You'll know which room is hers."

I thanked her. As I walked up the stairs, I could hear her talking to Van. "We have every channel South Park has to offer on this television, young man; make yourself at home." I smiled at that.

"Wendy," I said, knocking on her door.

"Come in."

I opened the door and found her writing in a journal.

"What's up?" I asked, walking in.

"Oh, nothing much, just logging the day's events," She said. "I do this every evening before dinner; it helps me focus on the present if I take time to look on the past for a few minutes."

"That was kind of deep, Wendy," I laughed lightly. "But cool."

She looked at me and grinned, "Stan was right."

"About what?" I furrowed my brow.

"You do belong with the guys, I think," She said. "You act like them more than you act like us." She paused. "Oh, look at your hair, I love it! And I didn't know you could do your makeup so well; wow, if you wear yourself like that to school, not only will the girls adore you, but the guys might as well… I mean, come on you've got to have a guy you're trying to impress right now!"

I blushed and looked down. I wasn't used to the attention; back in NY this was how normal girls looked and anything less would be sloth-like, at the very least.

"Um, I don't know," I said, awkwardly. Was I trying to impress anyone? The tall Goth kid was kind of cute, but I didn't know if our personalities could mingle, also Henrietta might have called dibs; Kenny was sweet, but he felt like a brother…. And everyone liked Clyde, but he was ignoring me anyways. But, then there were the nice ones like Kyle… I didn't know. She was expecting a response. _Should I lie? Should I pretend I'm asexual? Should I say what every other girl says so she dismisses me?_

"Come on, I'm dying to know," She grinned. "I won't tell Stan; promise."

"I mean, a lot of the guys are cute, but I've only been here for a month," I said, choosing to be honest. "I need more time to evaluate them as people, yknow?"

She nodded, "I like that it's more than just looks for you. It seems like every girl is into Clyde, and he's nice, but he's not always kind, you know what I mean? That's why I like Stan; he isn't trying to be someone he's not and he's always looking out for me."

"That's really awesome that you two found each other, Wendy," I smiled.

"Girls, time for dinner," A male voice, her dad, called out.

"Okay, dad, be down in a moment," Wendy responded. She stood up from her bed and before opening the door looked at me and said, "But, when you do think you like someone, come to me; the girls and I will help."

I couldn't help but chuckle, "Alright."

Dinner was sociable; I remained quiet unless addressed, which Mrs. Testaburger would do from time to time; she was a kindhearted lady; I wished dad could find someone as sweet as her, but whenever he did date, it was always for looks and didn't last long. The conversation between the adults went well, though, and I was confident that my dad would at least be given something temporary, which I had previously been fearful for. At the end of dinner, we got our coats on and said our goodbyes. Mr. Testaburger told my father that he should expect a call within a day or two regarding work and I felt as giddy as he looked.

We arrived home and I put Van to bed; before going to sleep myself, I walked downstairs to talk to dad.

"I need to discuss something with you," He said.

"What's up?"

"This job pays less than my previous one," He said. "So, that means that we either have to give up cable or we have to have a yard sale; the yard sale would only hold us over until I get a raise and you're too young to get a traditional job during the school year, not that I'd expect you to anyways."

Before he lost his job, he'd surprised me with a new gaming system; it wasn't the game sphere, but it was probably worth a hundred or two and that could pay for a month of cable. I really liked it, but I knew that I should be the better person. I didn't care about television but dad and Van did, so I'd give up my gaming system.

"We'll sell the game system I got," I said.

"Are you sure?" He was surprised.

"It's fine," I said. "If I want to play video games, I'll go over Kyle's house, alright? And, this summer, I'll see if I can get a job at Tweak's cleaning or something. And, this weekend, if it snows, I'll go shovel peoples lawns like the boys do and split it with them."

He smiled, "You're such a good kid. I'm sorry that I always get mad at you. Now, go to bed, we'll discuss it more before the weekend."

I slept well that night. The next morning, I decided to be bold for once. I took Wendy's advice. I wore a long sleeved black shirt and dark jeans, let my curly hair loose, and did my makeup; I'd always been somewhat of a makeup lover, so I caught on quickly. I put on a long coat and boots, got Van ready, and walked to school. As what we've been doing recently, I waited for Henrietta and Bradley to leave for school and we walked with them.

"Damn," Henrietta said. "You actually look kind of cool today, no offense; you're cool for a conformist, but sometimes your style is a drag."

"I get it," I nodded. "But thanks, I appreciate it coming from a Goth Queen like yourself."

" _Goth Queen_? Are you trying to suck up to me?"

"No," I laughed. "You're just cool, Henrietta."

"Oh, well, thanks, I guess."

I figured nobody would notice or care that I looked this way anyways, so I was pretty excited to be myself for the first time since moving.


	10. Chapter 10

I walked into the classroom and went up to the front of the class to hand Mr. Garrison my assignment.

"Are you new?" He asked me as I tried to hand him my paper about the environment.

"Um, Mr. Garrison…" I said, confused. "It's me, Emma."

"Emma? Oh, jeez, I'm sorry," He said and took my paper. "Okay, take your seats class. If anyone else has their assignment, please bring it to the front."

I took my seat in the back row, as usual. Right away, I felt uncomfortable; I felt as if the world was judging me and I wished I could go put on my hoodie and tie back my hair; I felt exposed. There were murmurs and glances towards me, mostly from the girls, but some from the guys – especially the ones who haven't been speaking to me.

"Quiet down, class."

Lunch came quick as I had zoned out halfway into his discussion. Once lunch started, I met with the Goth kids in the hall.

"Hey, guys," I said.

"Hey, are you going to come with us today?" Henrietta asked.

"I would if I could. I just needed to be around people who wouldn't look at me like I'm a walking parasite for a few minutes before going to the cafeteria."

"You just have to ignore them," Pete said.

"Yeah, ignore them," Michael added.

"Yeah," Firkle, also, added.

I shrugged, "I know but it's just weird. Do any of you guys have a hoodie I can borrow? I just feel like hiding…"

Henrietta shrugged, "My brother does in his locker, but I wouldn't recommend touching it."

"We only wear Victorian styled trench coats," Michael said.

"Okay, well have fun," I said. "We should get coffee after school sometime soon."

"We don't have fun," Firkle said. After a moment, he added, "But that sounds non-conformist, so I think we could do that."

"Awesome, well, see you guys," I said.

The cafeteria was full of students once I arrived. I didn't know where to sit; should I sit with Eric and the other three or with the girls? I'd sit with Craig's group, but I still feared rejection. Unsure, I sat with the girls since Wendy was my safest bet of someone who would treat me normal. The other girls, not so much. As I approached the table, I was greeted with a silence and staring.

"Hey, Wendy," I said, awkwardly, and sat next to her in the last empty seat.

"Hey, what took you so long, girl?" She asked as she munched on her sandwich.

"Oh, I was talking to Henrietta."

"Isn't she the Goth girl?" One of the girls, I think Nelly or Jenny said and gasped.

I sighed, "She's actually really nice if you guys wouldn't judge her."

" _Girls_ ," Bebe corrected.

I ignored that and drank my tea.

A few moments later, I heard steps approaching the table and all the girls looked up; I did the same.

"H-hey, Em… Emma," It was Jimmy.

"Oh, um, hey, Jimmy," I said, awkwardly. "I thought you guys were ignoring me."

"Well, I wasn't," He said. "Th-they muh-made me."

"So, what changed your mind?" I asked.

"Well, thuh-they wanted to know if yuh-you wanted to… sit with us?"

I looked over. His table consisted of Craig, Tweek, Clyde, and someone I'd never seen before; was he new? They were all looking except the new kid at our conversation; probably trying to tell what I was saying.

"Um, I don't know, Jimmy," I said. "It's not you, its them."

"I underst-stand, Emma," He sighed. "You look pruh-pretty to-today."

He walked back to his table.

The girls table was half silence and half laughter. I was the half silence part.

"I can't believe _that_ was his pick up line," Bebe laughed.

"I know," Another girl said. "He thinks that he has a chance with her."

I stood up, "You guys are so insensitive. You all pretend to be politically correct and nice, but you're all bitches. I'm out of here."

I ran off. I could hear feet in pursuit. I assumed it was Wendy. Once I reached the hall, I turned around. It wasn't Wendy.

"What do you want?" I asked, tears beginning to fill my mascara covered lids; it wasn't waterproof – waterproof hurt.

He pulled down his hood so I could actually hear him. He knew I hated it when he talked with his hood up. "What happened?"

"The girls are jerks," I said.

"Is this why you did all the makeup?" He asked.

"No, I actually kind of like this stuff," I admitted. "They're just horrible people. They made fun of Jimmy. He's so sweet I don't understand how anyone would make fun of him. They also made fun of Henrietta. I'm done with them. Wendy's the only nice one."

He sighed, "Why don't you come sit with us?" He put his hood back up.

I followed him back into the cafeteria, a bit nervous; I should've just ditched with the Goth kids.

I sat next to Kenny at the other boys' table; this one had everyone except Jimmy's group. Immediately, however, they noticed, but thankfully didn't say anything. I'm sure the girls noticed too; I just hoped Wendy would calm them down; I didn't need any more bullies. My seat was across from Eric, who sat next to Butters; Kyle, Timmy, Stan, and a few others were farther down the table, however still within talking distance.

"Oh, hey Emma!" Butters said excited; he looked at me the same way he did every time he saw me and it made my heart melt; he was such a sweet person.

"Hey Butters," I smiled.

"Butters," Eric began. "Just because Emma is looking… girly today doesn't mean you should get all excited."

"What?" Butters asked, genuinely confused. "But I love Emma; she's so cool. Don't you guys think?"

Eric sighed, "No, Butters."

"Mmmph!"

"Calm down, Kenny," Eric said.

"So, Eric," I addressed. "How has your day been?"

Eric cleared his throat and was quiet for a minute. "Um, my day has been cooool."

"That's good," I smiled. _Kill 'em with kindness, Em_.

"Wow, fat ass, you got a girl to talk to you today," Kyle said from across the table. Stan and Kenny laughed at this.

"Timmy!" Timmy said, smiling.

"Hi, Timmy, how are you?" I asked.

"Timmah!" Timmy said enthusiastically.

"Awesome!"

The bell rang shortly after for class; recess finally came not too long after and I retreated to the Goth kids' corner outside.

"Hey, guys!" I smiled.

"You have some pep in your step, conformist," Michael commented.

"Oh, sorry, am I supposed to act emo and spooky?" I giggled.

"Um, no," Firkle sighed.

"We're not fucking emos," Pete and Michael said at about the same time, using the same inflection in their voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I sighed, sitting down next to Michael on the staircase. "I was just trying to be funny. But yeah, my mood got kind of better. The girls are total bitches though; except Wendy; so, I think I'm done with them.

"I bet that doesn't sparkle with them," Henrietta said, mimicking their voice, whilst lighting a cigarette. I was baffled and stared at her for a minute. I'd never seen her do that. "Um, _what_?"

"That's kind of bad, Henrietta… I don't mean to be an ass, I'm just worried."

She shrugged, "Don't be. I hate the world anyways, so if smoking kills me, whatever."

That made me really sad, but I didn't say anything. Instead, I kept thinking about what Wendy had said about needing to find a crush and getting to know them; it was kind of bothering me. I didn't really want to date yet but I knew that Wendy would be disappointed if I didn't come up with someone soon. So, I decided I'd try something. The Goth kids weren't especially talkative, though, so it would be difficult.

"So, Michael, what made you want to be Goth?" I asked. It was normal, right? I mean, he was their leader basically…

This caught him off guard. He seemed like he didn't want to say, but after a minute, mumbled, "Um, Edgar Allen Poe, obviously." I don't think he was telling the truth; he seemed upset, but his face looked as if he'd just been impaled with a spear.

Pete immediately came to his defense, "Yeah. Edgar Allen Poe is the Goth king."

"Yeah," Firkle added.

It was silent after that. The last five minutes of recess, Henrietta asked me to join her in the bathroom, so I did; girls were supposed to do that, but she never asked before, so I agreed without hesitation.

"If you're trying to break him out of his shell, it might never happen," Henrietta said, sighing. "I know you want to be friends with us, but we each have dark pasts that have led us to be this way."

"Even Firkle?" He was a kindergartener.

"Um, probably not… but otherwise, the rest of us…" She stopped.

"I'm sorry I tried to pry," I sighed. "I just… I think you guys are cool and I want to be friends with you guys."

"You already are," She insisted. "It's just… listen, don't tell him I told you. Michael's biological father is a piece of shit, okay? He goes to therapy from time to time when his mom makes him, but he still holds a resentment."

"I won't tell," I said. "If he doesn't like to talk about it, why do you know?"

She cracked a small smile, "I've been friends with him and Pete since preschool; the pre-Goth era. Our parents used to put us in Gap clothes, can you believe it? Actually, Michael was the first one to transition to Goth, in first grade; we were in kindergarten and didn't understand it for a while. That's why I'm so surprised Firkle is Goth, but he also never made friends, so I guess he decided to dress like us to be like us and he now embraces it."

"That's a cute story, Henrietta," I said. "C'mon let's go back out there."

"Okay, but first, I have to ask and I swear if you tell anyone how feminine I'm acting, I'll tell everyone you're dating Eric Cartman, but," She paused. "Do you like Michael?"

I blushed, "What? No? I'm in fourth grade, he's in fifth. That doesn't work."

"Maybe not in New York, but –"

"Come on," I dragged her arm out of the bathroom.

The rest of the school day went by as a breeze into the night. I slept pretty easy that night, besides worrying over Jimmy and Tweek – I missed them, a lot.

 _Hey, guys, it's Cadet! Leave me a review and let me know if you like it or not!_


	11. Chapter 11

The rest of the week went by in the same blur; I hung out with the Goth kids, I talked with the boys, I went over Wendy's afterschool one day; there wasn't anything particularly notable. Oh, dad started his job though; he was actually getting along pretty well with the Testaburger family; we planned to have dinner again soon, but this time it would be at our house. Overall, the rest of the week was pretty decent, besides not being able to talk much with Jimmy and the others in Craig's group of friends.

Once Friday night came, dad and I started getting everything ready for the yard sale; it wouldn't be huge; just a few old electronics, some clothes, an old bean bag, Van's old toys, and of course, the Bohr 3 gaming system that I prized so much. After we got everything together, we calculated prices – well, he did; I detested mathematics.

The night drew to a close and I put Van to bed and read him a story about superheros before going to bed myself. However, after I finally winded myself down and fell asleep, I could hear shouting coming from Van's room; dad was a heavy sleeper so whenever Van had a night terror, I had to get up. I slipped on my slippers and wrapped a blanket around me and wandered to Van's room where I found him wide eyed with the window open – the curtain moving with the air. Confused, I closed the window and sat on his bed.

"Hey, kiddo," I said. "Why was your window open?"

He calmed his breathing a bit as I hugged him and whimpered, "There was someone there."

"What?"

"He had a cape and a mask and was in purple," Van said and immediately, I calmed down. It was probably a dream he had and he opened the window to see if it was real.

"Oh, Van it's probably just a night terror," I yawned. "But, I'll stay in here with you if it'll help."

He nodded and huddled in the fetal position; he must've been terrified. I worried if the night terrors didn't stop, he'd have to see a therapist. I lied down next to him and combed his hair until I fell asleep myself.

The next morning, I left his room at five and wandered downstairs to start brewing coffee; I couldn't sleep very well; I had a few weird dreams myself, but they weren't about people in masks with capes, unfortunately; I'd rather have Van's hallucinations than my reality. The rest of the house usually slept until nine, so I assumed the yard sale wouldn't begin until noon. I really wished I had a phone so I could text my friends to come over; I had an old computer, but it was really only good for doing school work – maybe if I could save up enough from shoveling snow or getting a job, I could get one before my next birthday.

While the coffee took what seemed like hours in my delirious mind to brew, I went to the bathroom and washed the dried sweat from my face and tied my hair up into a messy bun; it wasn't a gross one as I'd done the first month being here, but rather, a classy feminine one; I supposed I was getting more in tune with myself and less depressed; today would definitely not be a makeup day and I assumed that I wouldn't even get out of my band shirt and sweats for the yard sale.

I went back into the kitchen to pour the coffee from the pot into my favorite teal mug; it was embellished with swirly white flowers. The sun still wasn't up yet. Back in NY, this time of year, the sun would rise a bit after six, but here it didn't rise until seven. It was only five thirty when I looked at the clock, so after I drizzled some sugar into my cup, I took my coffee upstairs and got out a book to read. After a few minutes, I opened my blinds so that when the sun started rising, I would know to begin breakfast. However, upon doing so, what I saw shocked the life out of me. It was, exactly as Van had described it; someone wearing a cape and a mask with a purple suit; he was almost hovering but not really in a way.

"What the hell," I mouthed out. Immediately I could see its eyes peering into me and I felt uncomfortable but somehow safe at the same time; had this entity been watching over us? Is that why Van saw it so late and now I was seeing it still so early. I closed my blinds and turned my lamp on, completely freaked out. I tried to read for the next hour, but my brain was elsewhere as my eyes scanned the pages.

Once the sun came out, I made sure the apparition was gone before I went downstairs to pour myself a second cup of coffee; it was still hot and I was happy. I started cooking pancakes made with bananas mashed together; they weren't exactly pancakes, but with a little cinnamon and maple drizzle, they were amazing. I paired that with a small pan of sautéed mushrooms, onions, and potatoes and chopped strawberries; produce wasn't as expensive in Colorado as NY but it was still more expensive than we would've liked it to be; but, that's why I needed a job. I hoped the yard sale would help us get through the extra winter expenses, though.

Within the last few minutes of me cooking, dad and Van made their way down the steps. I poured Van a cup of juice as dad made himself a cup of coffee.

"Thanks for cooking, sweetie," Dad said as he made him and Van a plate and went to sit in the living room.

As I said before, I only kind of enjoy television, however in the mornings, I would eat on the porch if the weather permitted; and today, it did so I took my coffee and food and sat outside. Not many people ventured outside their houses on a Saturday morning, but I was always greeted by those who did.

As usual, Kyle's dad greeted me on his way to work with a wave before driving away; his only days off were Friday and Sunday – I think one of those days held prevalence in Jewish culture, but I couldn't remember which one. It was weird that he always went in later on Saturdays, though; it was coming on ten o'clock and I usually saw him leave with Kyle at seven; so maybe it was Friday? (Authors Note: Friday Night into Saturday is Shabbat.)

After a few hours went by, father and I had set up for the yard sale and were excited to talk with neighbors more than anything. Business was slow for the first hour, so we sipped on our coffee lazily, however eventually Kyle and Stan's family came by. My dad talked to Stan's dad, Randy, while the women talked. Ike went inside to hang out with Van and I talked with Stan and Kyle.

"You're selling your Bohr?" Stan asked.

I sighed, "Yeah, yknow I don't really want it anymore."

"Liar," Kyle said. "Tell us what's up."

I sighed, even deeper, "We can't afford to have it anymore; my dad switched jobs and now works under Wendy's mom at her business."

"Oh," They both said.

After a few more minutes, Henrietta's family came, along with the Goth kids; Henrietta carried a parasol even though it wasn't that bright out.

"Hey, conformists," Michael greeted us. I thought he was also looping me into the mix, until he followed it with, "Hey, Emma."

I smiled, "Hey, Michael; I'm surprised you guys showed up."

He sighed, "Well, we were at Henrietta's house and her dad made us come with her."

I looked for Bradley and finally caught sight of him, "Hey, Bradley, Ike and Van are inside if you want to go play with them!"

He grinned at me and ran inside to join them. He was cool; I think he was in my grade or a grade below me, but he seemed to do so much better with kids Van's age, which I thought was cool; most kids my age wouldn't dare hang out with a kindergartener.

I noticed Henrietta looking at some of my old coats and walked over to her, leaving the Goths with Stan and Kyle.

"These aren't too bad," She commented. "Why are you getting rid of these?"

They were mostly just old band shirts and boots.

"I grew out of them," I admitted. "I like loose fitting clothes. I still have plenty of band shirts, though."

She nodded, "Cool."

When we walked back over to the conversation Kyle and his mom had left; I'd assumed they'd pick up Ike later. Not long after, Eric and his mom arrived and Stan and his family left; they would have stayed but his dad, Randy, was arguing with my dad about some sports team. When Eric joined the conversation, it was uncomfortable, but my dad seemed to be hitting it off pretty well with his mom; she was pretty too; I hoped she wasn't single though, because the thought of being around Eric too much made me shiver in fear.

"Wow conformist, what are you doing here?" Henrietta asked Eric.

"Just here with my mom," Eric answered. "She told me if I came I'd get ice cream later."

"No, but really," Pete said. "You clearly can eat whenever you want, so that's not it."

"Yeah, then what is it, huh?" Michael said.

"Did you want to come talk to Emma?" Firkle added.

I sighed, "Guys, leave him be..." He irked me but I didn't like seeing him get bullied.

"Meeeeeeemm!" Eric shouted. "These Goth losers are making fun of meeeee."

Eric's mom and my dad came over to see what the problem was.

"What are you _emos_ doing on my property, anyways?" My dad asked.

"We're _not_ emos!" Michael and Pete shouted.

I couldn't believe my dad would ask that in front of them. Thankfully, Henrietta's family already left because they probably would've gotten angry at my dad for harassing their daughter.

"These are my _friends_ , dad," I said. "And Eric was just provoking them."

"Was not," He whined.

"Oh, Eric, come on, let's go home," His mom said, taking him by the hand, much to his aggravation. "It was nice talking to you." She gave my dad a flirty look and walked down the street to their house.

The rest of the day went pretty well; eventually the Goth kids left and Ike was picked up. We sold a decent amount of our stuff, except my Bohrs game system. We were about to call it a night when Jimmy and Tweek showed up, cash in hand.

"Hey, we heard you were selling your Bohrs," Tweek said, a bit spazzed out, as usual. This was the first contact I'd had with him in a week.

"Yuh-yeah, and we were um wondering," Jimmy began. "How muh-much it is?"

I shrugged, "It was originally a hundred, but what do you guys have?"

"Twenty," Tweek said.

"I hu-have thirty five," Jimmy added.

I looked at my dad and he nodded.

"Deal," He told the boys.

"Awe-awesome," Jimmy smiled.

"I guess today's over then," Dad said, as the sun was setting deeper into the sky.

I looked at the boys and smiled, "Do you guys want to join us for dinner? I'm making lasagna."

"Sure," Jimmy said and Tweek nodded in response.

"Awesome, I'll go get it started," I smiled and ran inside.

Outside the window, I could see Jimmy and Tweek talking and helping my dad clean up the yard sale as Van and I prepared dinner. I was happy. I was just nervous for the masked apparition and worried that it would haunt me again that night. Then again, I could always stay up and confront it myself…


	12. Chapter 12

Dinner with the boys was nice, but somewhat awkward; my dad felt uncomfortable talking to Jimmy because of his disability, which I thought was somewhat funny, because he was probably the easier of the two to talk to; Tweek was sweet, but he was spazzy and sometimes he would get into weird trances where he wouldn't respond right away.

After the boys went home, I went upstairs to put Van to bed since dad agreed he'd do the dishes tonight. As I expected, Van was somewhat afraid of the apparition, but I didn't dare to tell him that it was real; instead, I tucked him in and said I would stay with him until he fell asleep; I was going to stay up to investigate, but I ended up falling asleep too. I finally woke up from his bed around four in the morning, a bit earlier than I typically woke up, so I chose to go back to my bedroom; I had a small television in my room that I turned on and scrolled until I found the history channel; Terrance and Phillip wouldn't come on for another two hours since it was Sunday.

As I was dozing off, I heard a rattle at my window and fell out of my bed. Skeptical, I went over to the window to investigate; upon opening I saw what I expected, but didn't want, to see. The entity with the mask and purple cape. I could see an M on his chest this time. I couldn't show fear like last time; he wasn't tall, I might be able to take him and I could always get dad or call the cops. Hesitant, I took a deep breath and opened the window.

It looked at me, silent, still.

"What?" I asked, backing away.

It swooped into my room, carefully and I flinched a bit.

"I am Mysterion," The voice, clearly male, stated.

"Okay…" I didn't know what else to say. "Um, I'm Emma, but listen you can't just–"

"There is someone plotting against you," He said.

"What are you even talking about?" I asked.

"His name is Mosquito and he is trying to ruin your reputation," He said. "You must be careful."

I couldn't believe any of what I was hearing. Before I could say another word, he disappeared into the night. Confused and afraid, I shut my window and ran downstairs to make coffee. Caffeine calmed me down. The sun wasn't up yet when I poured my cup, but I didn't care; I left a note on the counter incase dad woke up saying that I went for a morning jog, which was a lie, and I ran to the only house I knew would listen to me at five in the morning; Kenny's house.

It was a longer walk, but his house was the only one I knew would be awake at five in the morning and that's because that's when his parents went out for the day; I didn't know what his dad did, but his mom worked at Olive Garden; my dad said he saw her there once when passing by.

I could tell his parents were gone by the time I arrived, but I knocked on the door anyways; I wished I knew which window was to Kenny's bedroom; their house was one story anyways so I wouldn't have had to climb up anything to get to it either. After two minutes, a little girl timidly opened the door; she only looked to be a few years younger than I was at the time; I was the oldest fourth grader, too, which was sometimes awkward. I wondered if she was Karen; I assumed so, so I went with it.

"Hi, Karen," I greeted and smiled. "I'm sorry it's early, sweetie, but is Kenny home?"

She looked behind her; Kenny was already in the living room, looking onward at us in his pajamas. Their house was worn down and it made me feel sympathetic that they had to live in such conditions; back in NY I had a friend like them that didn't have much money; sometimes we'd find their family on the streets and let them live with us for a few days, but that was back when mom was still around; her heart was so grand. She turned back to me and nodded; taking my hand, she led me inside.

"Hey," I greeted him. "I'm sorry it's early, I'm just a bit spooked and I thought you might be able to help."

He nodded. Karen let go of my hand and shyly walked away, probably to her room. I hoped I didn't wake her.

Kenny sat on the stained sofa; I did the same.

"There was… something," I began. "And initially it terrified Van and I didn't think it was real until I saw it myself but it was watching us; it called itself Mysterion and warned me of something called Mosquito, but I don't think it was talking about the insect."

He nodded.

I continued, "I don't know what to do but it has been going on for a couple of days now and Van can hardly sleep and now it's effecting me too. Does weird stuff like this happen often in South Park?"

He nodded.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't sleep and I didn't know who else to go to and I figured you'd be awake because your parents leave so early," I shrugged. "I can go, I don't mean to be a bother."

I stood up frantically, prepared to leave, realizing how annoying I must've been as he grasped my hand.

"What?"

"It's okay," He sighed. "Whatever it was; it's a being that looks over people. I've seen it. It's here to keep you safe, Em."

"Really?" I asked.

He nodded.

I smiled a bit, "Thanks. Oh, and before I leave… I'm going to go shovel yards later with the other guys if you want to join us; I don't know if they told you, I called them last night to ask but I figured you were asleep, because Eric said to not call you."

He looked surprised at this but shrugged.

"So, if you want to come, we'll split what we make with you; and if Eric tries to take it all, I'll make sure you get your cut. I'm heading out around ten and we're meeting at Kyle's. After, we were going to go to Benny's."

"Isn't that where the Goth kids hang out?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, well Eric isn't invited but the others are because I promised Henrietta and she said I could bring you guys as long as Eric doesn't come."

He nodded. I bent down to hug him quickly since he was still sitting on the sofa and said, "Oh, tell Karen that I think she's very pretty."

And with that, I took my leave, reassured over what I assumed to be the town's guardian angel, and excited for the day.

It was only six thirty when I got home and nobody was awake. I reheated the coffee pot and took another cup from it. I considered calling Jimmy's home phone to talk to him for a while, since he was also an early riser, but decided against it and started breakfast instead. It was weird; there were only four early risers besides me in town: Kenny, Kyle, Jimmy, and Tweek; Tweek and Kyle were the only ones with valid reasons to get up early, so it amazed me that there were more kids who enjoyed the mornings like I did; I figured I'd have to have the four of them sleep over sometime so we could watch sunrise together and take pictures; it was one of my favorite pastimes in the morning.

The day was bound to be exciting, nonetheless.


	13. Chapter 13

Around ten, I met up with the rest of the boys at Kyle's house; Kenny came, much to Eric's annoyance; I wondered why Eric was being so strange but shrugged it off, assuming that that's just how he was. I was the only one who didn't already have a big snow shovel at home, since when it did snow in NY, the street cleaners did the job for you and you'd only have to put salt on your porch, if you even had one. Thankfully, Kyle's dad was home and went into the attic to find me a spare; his family was really nice and giving in that sort of way, even when it was small.

"Thanks, Mr. Broflovski," I said.

"Any time, Emma," He responded. "You kids have fun out there."

"What's fun about shoveling snow?" Eric groaned.

"Well, with all the money you make, you can buy video games," He said, trying to be enthusiastic.

"Yeah, but I can just get my meeem to do it," He said.

I rolled my eyes at Eric.

"We'll be back later, dad," Kyle said, before we departed.

Throughout the day, we ended up shoveling probably four yards; we knew we had to be done by three if we wanted to meet the Goth kids by four; I didn't expect the others to be so eager about joining me, since they weren't partial with the Goths, but I was happy that they were on board with the plan. We didn't tell Eric about it though; actually, the excuse we made up was that we had to be done early because Kyle had a dentist appointment; Eric made fun of him for this, but he ignored it. I'm sure Eric also got plenty cavities in his life too.

Once we finished, Eric, thankfully, went home and we all went back to Kyle's to drop off our snow shoveling gear. Kyle's mom said that she was more than willing to drive us to Benny's so we wouldn't have to walk a ways in the cold, which I was appreciative for; I'm sure the other three were as well.

The Goth kids were standing outside smoking when we arrived. Kyle's mom didn't know we were hanging out with them though, so she just made a negative comment regarding them before driving away. My dad said he was going to pick us up at five; it was four now.

"Hey!" I greeted, smiling, as we approached the Goths.

"Hey, Emma," Pete and Michael said in a monotone voice. Michael flicked his cigarette onto the ground and crushed it; Pete did the same, following him.

"Hey," Firkle said.

"How was shoveling snow?" Henrietta asked. She put her finished cigarette in the ash tray that the others didn't notice before.

"Frustrating," Kyle answered; I would've said the same.

"Why's that?" Michael asked.

"Well, Cartman wouldn't shut the hell up," Stan sighed.

I nodded, "His constant complaining was getting on my nerves a bit; but we made bank, so it's alright."

"Mmmph," Kenny nodded.

"Let's go inside," Pete flipped his hair to get it out of his eyes.

"Yeah it's colder than tits out here," Firkle muttered.

We all made our way inside; when the usual waitress saw us, she sighed and brought us to our rounded table in the corner near the big window.

"Thanks," Kyle said and she grimaced at him; I thanked her the first time, but she was so negative towards us that I didn't think she deserved it; I guess Kyle would learn the way we all learned too.

"So coffee?" She said, grabbing out her pen and pad.

All but Kyle and Stan ordered coffee; they ordered hot cocoa. I was surprised that Kenny ordered coffee, even though he ordered decaf; although I did see a few bags of it lying around when I went to his house this morning. It was probably better than whatever tap water came out of their faucet.

"So, um, how's Wendy?" Michael asked Stan, trying to make small talk.

"She's good," Stan said.

The awkward small talk went on until our drinks came; once they took a sip of coffee, they were able to communicate much more effortlessly, even though they seldom took to speaking; I could see that they were making an effort to be friends with my other friends and it made me so happy. This went on until out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eric enter Benny's with his mom. I couldn't believe it; I wondered if it was coincidence or if he found us and knew we were lying.

"Kenny," I nudged him and pointed since he was the closest to me.

"Oh shit," He said; it was muffled but I understood it pretty clearly.

Kyle and Stan looked up and groaned, which got the Goth kids' attention.

"Should we, like, sneak out?" Henrietta asked.

Eric was seated at a table on the other side of the restaurant from us, so we figured he wasn't aware of us and forgot about it.

For the most part, we had a decent time; I could see the apprehension between the two groups to socialize, however there was still decent conversation nonetheless. Around 4:55, we paid our bill and were walking out the door when we heard a shriek.

"Meeemmm!" It was Eric. "Look, it's my friends who said they were too busy for me!"

"Oh, dear," I heard her gasp.

"Shit shit shit," I muttered, grabbing the hands of whoever was near me and ran out.

Once we made our way out of the restaurant, I realized that one of the hands I had grabbed was Michaels and quickly recoiled, awkwardly. He gave me a strange look, but said nothing of it.

"Why are you so freaked out?" Kyle insisted.

"My dad is friends with Eric's mom and if he finds out that I was a part of the plan to ditch Eric, I'm grounded," I said, a bit frazzled.

"Mmmpph," Kenny said; it sounded kind of like 'it's okay', but I wasn't sure.

"We'll think of an excuse to fix this, Em," Stan said.

"Yeah, and we've got your back," Henrietta said.

"But her dad hates us, remember," Pete sighed and flipped his hair from his eyes; it was windy out and having fringe that long must've been a fashionable burden.

"Every adult hates us, Pete," Michael added.

"Yeah," Firkle agreed.

I sighed, sitting down on the sidewalk with the boys as we waited to be picked up. The Goth kids decided to all walk home together, so that they could smoke without being harassed by any adults. The sun was setting when my dad finally arrived, ten minutes later than he said; I didn't mind, but it was cold.

"How was it, kiddo?" Dad asked as we all four loaded into the car; I sat in the passenger seat.

"It was cool, dad," I forced a smile, nervous.

Hopefully this wouldn't bite me in the ass.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning, the walk to school was colder than usual, so I didn't wait for Henrietta; I hoped she wouldn't be upset. I only did my makeup today and tossed my hair in a bun because I was running late, meaning I didn't have coffee; since I didn't have time to wait for the coffee pot, I called Tweak's and asked if Tweek could bring me a cup on his way to school; his mom drove him into school most days and said it wouldn't be a problem; I was incredibly thankful for this. His family could be a little, mysterious – I still didn't believe Michael's claim of the drugs, though – but they were nice people overall; just strict, I suppose.

Upon entering Mr. Garrison's class, I was greeted by Tweek with my coffee and Jimmy with a joke about the cold. I took a seat at my desk, which was moved to be next to Wendy, and greeted her.

"Did you hear that someone replaced the principal?" She said, surprised. "I'm kind of upset; I really liked her; she always stood up for me."

"Really?" I asked. "That's crazy. Did she quit?"

"I think she was forced to," She responded.

"Quiet down, class," Mr. Garrison said. "We have to get through these equations quickly so we can be present at the assembly in an hour."

The class groaned. An hour went by in what felt like days and we were being walked down to the gymnasium; I was in line behind Kenny but in front of Butters; Kenny didn't talk much, but he listened, so once we sat down in the gymnasium, I talked to Butters; it felt like days since I'd seen him.

"Where have you been, Butters?"

"Oh, me?" He seemed shocked I was talking to him; a bit hesitant. "I was grounded."

"Wait, so you don't go to school when you're grounded?" I asked; damn, I'd be okay with getting grounded if I could stay home and play my guitar all day long; that would be a vacation to me.

"Yeah and it sucks," He pouted. "I get locked in my room and all I have is my hamster to keep me company."

I sighed, "I'm sorry. That must suck. Well, it's good you're back."

"Quiet down, m'kay," I heard over the loud speaker; Mr. Mackey stood on the gymnasium floor. "This assembly is to present you with your new principal. So, let's welcome, PC Principal, m'kay."

A man then proceeded to burst through the doors, wearing a douchey smile on his face and ran up to Mr. Mackey to take his microphone. Before speaking, he took a sip of what looked like a sports drink. I could already tell he scored this job fresh out of college; I just wanted to know what happened to the old principal.

"Hello, South Park Elementary," He began his speech. "My name is PC Principal and I'm here to make grade school a better and safer place…. HEY! You up there; girl! Shut up!"

I looked over to see who he was yelling at; it was just Leslie who looked like a deer caught in headlights; I felt bad. I was a bit nervous about this guy. I took a sip of my coffee and sighed. His speech went on for a while and I was dozing off, until he brought Nichole and the kid who was sitting with Craig's group down to the floor with him.

"And, you see, this is racism at its finest," He began. "There are only two African American kids in this entire school."

I knew it was a lie, but I also wasn't sure if I should speak up after he yelled at Leslie for simply whispering to her friend. South Park was definitely not the most diverse place, but you could still see diversity amongst its student body if you calculated all the grades together. I mean, even Michael was half Asian, but nobody realized that because of the white powder and eyeliner he wore.

The assembly went on until the new principal ran out of steam and finally dismissed us back to class.

"That guy is crazy," Kyle muttered as we walked back to class; we weren't really in a line anymore, as PC Principal banned walking in lines because they were too strict and weren't PC enough for him. He sounded like a damn stoner, which I guess would make sense since he said he moved to Colorado to go to college for a 'better life'.

"Yuh-yeah, cruh-crazy," Jimmy said.

"And I thought that I was seen as the crazy one," Tweek murmured as we were walking back into class.

Not long after we returned to class, Mr. Garrison got a call on the school phone. After he hung up, he sighed, "Emma, will you please go down to the office."

"Um, yeah, I guess."

I hesitantly made my way to the new principal's office, unsure of what was to come, but afraid.

I knocked once.

"Entre-vue," He said. That wasn't even a word in any language, but I knew what he was trying to go for and entered anyways.

"Um, actually, if you wanted to say enter in French, it's 'enterer'," I said, sitting down. "And Spanish is pretty much the same, except pronounced slightly different… um, same with Italian."

He was staring at me, curiously.

"It's just cultural appropriation and I took a lot of basic classes in language back in New York, and…" Eventually, I just stopped because I was uncomfortable and didn't want detention.

I was surprised, however, at what came out of his mouth.

"Thank you, I didn't know that. Cultural appropriation means a lot to me and I think that it should be something that means a lot to others as well. Perhaps I'll let you speak at the next assembly," He said. "However, today, I've brought you here to discuss something that has come up regarding a boy in your class named Eric Cartman."

"Oh, jeez," I sighed.

"He says that you and your friends lied to him so he wouldn't join you for coffee yesterday. Do you have anything to say regarding that?"

"The truth?" I asked. "Because nobody ever wants the truth when it comes to him."

He nodded and I proceeded.

"The friends we were meeting are of the Goth culture," I was trying my best to speak PC to him so I wouldn't get detention or a parent call. "And Eric often chooses to bully them because of it and it's wrong to bully others for how they look and live their life. That's why we lied; it wasn't to hurt him, however to prevent the others from the ridicule that they face every day because of him and many others at this school."

He nodded and took it all in.

"I understand, thank you for addressing your concerns," He said. "I won't be calling your parent, however you will have to serve one lunch detention just so Eric will feel satisfied that his complaint was adequately addressed."

"I understand."

I stood up to leave.

"And if you wouldn't mind keeping an eye out for bullies, that would be honorable of you," He added.

"No problem," I said and returned to class.

He didn't seem too bad; I still missed the old principal though.

 _Hey guys; lemme know what you think. Who's your favorite character so far? What are you hoping to see in upcoming chapters? Who do you want to see Emma end up with? I already have a few ideas in mind for the loops of this wacky story, but I still want to see what y'all think! Thanks and much love :)_


	15. Chapter 15

I AM SO SORRY Please next time it uploads wrong, someone DM me. I will double check from now on.

At least Eric was satisfied that his plan worked, because when I walked back into class, he gave me a smirk and could hardly contain his laughter; if only he knew that I was let off incredibly easy; lunch detention wouldn't be that bad, I hoped. I hoped I would be alone and I assumed I would; just me and Mr. Mackey, so I could do my homework.

I found out how it would be not long after. The bell dismissed us to lunch and I went out to my locker to get my hoodie; I started taking it off for school, but I knew I'd want it for detention, because that classroom was always freezing according to Henrietta.

I looked around for the Goth kids before I went to detention, but only found Pete and Henrietta; I never really saw them without the others.

"Hey, guys," I greeted.

"Hey, Emma," They responded.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

Henrietta shrugged, "I don't know."

"We think Firkle went home with the stomach flu," Pete said. "But we haven't seen Michael."

"Weird," I said. "Well, I have to go to detention, so I'll see you guys."

As I was walking away, I heard Pete call out, "If you see Michael there, tell him I'm pissed."

I turned around, baffled at the tone Pete took; he never really spoke with much inflection.

"What?"

"Never mind," He muttered and he and Henrietta escaped out the door near the women's bathroom. I could've sworn they were holding hands, but I think my mind was just playing tricks on me; they hated the idea of relationships; it was too 'conformist."

I shrugged it off, though, and walked to the detention room. The room, as Henrietta said, was incredibly cold; Mr. Mackey hadn't arrived yet. There were two other kids; one in the back with dark hair and his head on his desk and then Craig. This was bound to be a homework-less day, if Craig had anything to say about it.

Before sitting, I shrugged my sweatshirt on. I sat down a few seats away from Craig and pulled my notebook out of my bag.

"Hey, Emma," And so it began.

I scribbled equations into my notebook from class today, trying to ignore him.

"Emma, look, I'm sorry," He said.

I ignored him. If he was sorry, he wouldn't have ignored me for so long and made Jimmy and Tweek fearful to be my friend.

"Em –"

He was cut off by Mr. Mackey entering the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Quiet down, Clyde, this is detention."

"I'm Craig."

"Quiet down, _Craig_ , this is detention."

He put his head down, "Sorry, Mr. Mackey."

I heard a laugh from the boy in the back with his head down and I thought I heard, " _Conformists_ …" But I wasn't sure. I looked back behind me. Was that Michael? He wasn't wearing his usual tailcoat; he had on a black sweatshirt. I wasn't sure, so I didn't say anything and continued doing my homework.

Not even ten minutes later into our hour detention, Mr. Mackey was already dozing off to sleep; imagine if PC Principal saw him; he seemed much stricter than the last principal.

"Will you let me explain?" Craig whispered.

I sighed, but tried to ignore him.

"Please?"

"Leave her alone, kid; she says she doesn't want to be bothered."

I turned my head to the voice in the back, knowing who it was. I was surprised at what I saw though; Michael, sitting there with his head barely up, no white powder and his black eyeliner smeared below his eyes, but not purposely. He locked eyes with me for a split second and I gave him a look of sympathy. However, just as soon as we looked at each other, he had his head back down. Something was wrong; Pete was mad at him and he didn't tell the group where he was. I was worried about him.

I sighed and put my head on my desk, giving up on doing homework for the remainder of the hour; I wanted to know what Craig had to say, but didn't want to give him the satisfaction. The school day went by in a blur, as did the afternoon.

That evening, I left the house to go over to Henrietta's. Her mom let me in graciously, she was such a different person than her daughter, and I went up to Henrietta's room. Knocking once, there was no answer. I knew that she hung out with the guys every evening and I wondered if Michael patched whatever up with Pete; I just entered, since her mom said that she was home. However, what I saw when I opened the door absolutely floored me.

"What the hell," I exclaimed, seeing Pete and Henrietta exchange a kiss.

"Oh, _shit_ ," Pete looked at me. Henrietta looked a bit shocked, as well.

"Yeah oh shit," I said. "But that's not why I'm here."

I walked into the room and sat across from them on the floor.

"What's up?" Henrietta asked, concerned.

"Michael was in detention today," I said.

Henrietta shrugged, "He is every day, though."

I shook my head, "Today was different. His makeup was smeared and his eyes looked bloodshot and he had his head down most of the time and he wasn't… himself. And I'm worried about him. Does this have to do with why you guys are angry at him?"

"I'm not angry," Pete said. "Just pissed."

I sighed, "I'm aware but why."

"We can't say," Pete said, defensively.

"Just make sure he doesn't do anything reckless," Henrietta added.

I was getting frustrated with them, but I knew that I wouldn't get anything else out of them.

"Which house is his?"

Henrietta sighed, "It's not walking distance, Emma; you can't –"

"Okay, what's his address?"

Eventually, they gave up and just gave me his address. I didn't know how I'd get there by foot, so I went over to Kyle's house to ask if I could borrow his bike; he said no because it was too late and felt bad, so I went to Butters house; he helped me sneak his bike out. It was a bit small, but still ride-able; I really hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for helping me.

I went home briefly to tell my dad that I was staying at Henrietta's and that I'd be back by morning to bring Van to school and began my journey; it was only five miles away, but walking it seemed dreadful and would've taken me two hours. By bike, it took me less than an hour because I was a fast peddler. Even with the brisk air, I still sweat on my bike, so I didn't wear makeup when I went to his house. It was odd seeing South Park's night scene; half the town was drunk and there was a concert going on that I passed by on my journey; the band didn't sound good though, but I think the patrons were too smashed to care.

Once I finally reached the house, I set the bike down, locked it to a pole, and went up to knock on the door.

It was silent and I wondered if anyone was home; it wasn't even nine yet so I couldn't imagine they were asleep; I knew he lived with his mom but wasn't sure if his dad was still around; Henrietta never specified.

I knocked one more time; I didn't come all the way out here for nothing. This one did the charm and an older man answered the door.

"What do you want, punk?" He grimaced.

"Um, is Michael home?" I asked. Part of me wondered if this was even the right address.

"What, are you one of those emo punks he hangs out with?" He asked, angrily.

I sighed. I took my hood down; my hair was already down and pretty tangled, but still nice enough to not make me look like a boy, I hoped.

"No, I was just wondering if I could talk to him…" I raised my voice an octave, hoping that the feminine act would work.

"Well, I'm sorry," He began and I worried he wouldn't let me in. "I didn't know my piece of shit son had a girlfriend. He's upstairs in his room, sulking."

I thanked him and scurried to where he said his room was as quickly as I could. Approaching the door, I took a deep breath, and knocked.

"Leave me alone, bastard!" Michael shouted; did he think I was his father? Also, where was his mother? Did they have joint custody or?

"Michael, let me in," I said, trying to sound angry but it just came out weak and worried.

I heard a click and the door opened. In front of me, I saw what I could only describe as distraught and broken. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him in a tight embrace. I wasn't nervous around him this time, because my concern for his wellbeing took over. It took him a minute, his arms limp, until he finally caved and hugged me back. After we backed away from each other, we walked into his room and he shut the door.

"Why'd you come all the way out here?" He asked. "How'd you know where my father's house is?"

"Henrietta," I said and I could see his eyes grow with anger. "Um, what happened between you guys?"

"They're fucking traitors, that's what happened," He said, wiping a tear from his eye. "God dammit, crying is so emo."

"Crying doesn't make you emo," I said, trying to comfort him. "It makes you human."

"Better than being a vampire," He sighed. After a moment, he spoke again, "We all made a promise that we wouldn't start dating anyone because it's a conformist thing to do. And Pete knew how I felt about Henrietta and he just went and –"

He stopped and put his head between his knees, trying to breathe, "I'm just upset. And, Pete's pissed because I'm pissed. He doesn't understand how shitty my life is."

"It's your dad isn't it?" I said. I scooted to sit next to him, my heart beat picking up; I tried to ignore my nerves, though.

"He just doesn't understand me and he treats my mom like shit," He sighed and picked his head back up. "They just recently got joint custody and I hate it; I just want to live with my mom; my father doesn't even like me, he just does this to piss mom off and he thinks he can change me into a conformist football player before high school starts and I hate it. I just want to be myself."

"I know," I said. "I'll still be here for you, even if the other Goths are pissed off. And my friends will take you in; I know that you don't like conformists, but it's better than being alone at lunch."

He sighed, "Thanks, I just need some time."

"I understand," I stood up, getting myself ready to leave. I needed to be at Butter's house before midnight to drop his bike off discreetly and Kenny said I could sleepover since I wasn't daring to actually go over Henrietta's; I wasn't mad at her, I just didn't want to face her again until tomorrow.

"Wait, Emma," He said.

I turned to him.

"You're a good _friend_. I take back what I said about you being a conformist."

"You are, too. Try to get some sleep; I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

And with that, I left, avoiding confrontation with his father a second time. Part of me, however, felt like my crazy night had only just begun.


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey guys; there's this playlist called Peaceful Guitar that helps me write these chapters; honestly, I think if you have a Spotify account (without ads because they ruin it) I'd listen to it quietly while reading this chapter; it helps the effect of it, honestly. If you want any more recommendations, DM me. Also, thanks for reading; let me know what you think once you are finished the chapter. I've been experimenting a bit with this story. xoxox_

I dropped Butters' bike off in his garage and headed to Kenny's place for the night by foot; South Park was somewhat scary at night. I was almost to the train tracks, however when I felt like I was being followed. I looked around me and saw nothing and therefore continued. However, only a moment later the Mysterion thing flashed in front of me, standing still, and I froze.

"Um, hey, I guess?" I greeted. I figured he wouldn't harm me but I still was afraid of him.

"What are you doing away from home?" He asked. His voice was scratchier than the last time; I wondered if he was hurt. He didn't look fully confident in the way he stood this time, as if he was limping on one of his legs.

"Are you, um, okay?"

"Where are you going?" He asked, ignoring my question, coughing a bit.

"I was going to my friend's house, because I can't go home tonight…" I said, uncomfortable, slightly backing away. He only came closer, keeping the same distance we originally had. "Um, can I help you? It's kind of late."

"Kenny isn't home," He said. He knew Kenny?

I didn't respond. He sighed.

"Listen, I know more than you think," He said. "Don't ask me why. Kenny will be home before one in the morning. Knock on Karen's window; she should let you in."

I didn't know how he knew all of this. I looked down at my watch; it was approaching midnight, so it wouldn't be too long of a wait. I sighed and nodded my head. I pulled down my hood.

"Um, thanks, Mystery Boy."

"It's Mysterion. And, you're welcome."

Before I moved my position, he vanished.

As I approached the McCormick household, I looked for Karen's window. Finally spotting what I assumed to be her room, I peered in the window. It was dark. She was on her bed hugging her dolly. I tapped twice and that immediately got her attention. She came over to open the window.

"Can I come in?"

She nodded, to my surprise, and I hopped into the house.

"Why are you still awake, girly?" I asked, sitting on her bed with her; it wasn't really a bed so much of a mattress on the ground. She turned her lamp on so it wasn't too dark.

"Kenny's been gone for hours," She said, hugging her knees.

I sighed, "Well, I'm here until Kenny gets back, at the very least."

It was quiet for a few minutes, until she spoke up.

"Kenny talks about you sometimes. So, I trust you."

"He talks about me?" I asked, surprised.

She nodded, "He says you're nice and pretty and stuff."

"He thinks I'm _pretty_?" I chuckled. "I look like a boy half the time."

"You have pretty hair," She complimented.

"Aww, thanks Karen," I smiled. "You have pretty hair, too."

We talked until I calmed her down enough that she was sleeping. I was starting to doze too, when I heard the door to her bedroom opening and cracked open my eye to peek. It was Kenny in his pajamas; I yawned, sitting up, and looking at my watch. It was a quarter past one in the morning; I wondered where he even was. I looked at Karen and tucked the blanket around her before walking into the hall to greet Kenny. My eyes were still not used to the light so I kept them cracked.

"Hey," I whispered.

"Hey," He said, his voice cracking as if he wasn't well. He looked a bit bruised, but I didn't think much of it; he always seemed a bit beaten looking.

I yawned again as my eyes threatened to shut; it felt like I hadn't slept in ages. Giving in to my body, I sat myself on the floor and leaned against the wall.

"Emma, are you okay?" I heard Kenny ask.

"Mmmhmm," I mumbled. "I'm just really tired. I don't know. I haven't slept well in a while."

"Why can't you go home?" He sat on the floor next to me.

"I lied to my dad," I admitted. "I went over Michael's house because the Goth kids are treating him bad; his home life seems kind of shitty, too."

"Do you like him or something?" He asked.

I tried to hide my blush, "Um, not really, I guess." I didn't know if I was telling the truth or not. I mean, I valued his friendship so greatly that I didn't want to give it up by complicating things; and anyways, dating was a conformist thing to do according to him.

"Well, if you don't like him, who do you like?"

The question caught me off guard and I stammered, "Um…."

"Come on," He chuckled. "Out of all the guys in South Park who constantly harass you, you've got to like one of them…. Just don't tell me it's Cartman."

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I guess I don't think about it much. Wendy asked me the same question a while ago. I mean, a few of the guys are cute, but I wouldn't go as far to say I particularly like anyone; I enjoy some of their company more than others, but that's to be expected."

It was silent for a moment; I thought I saw him scoot closer to me, but I was fighting to keep myself awake to some extent, so I didn't pay much mind.

"What about me?" He asked, interrupting the silence that drowsed me to sleep.

"Huh?" I asked, waking up a bit.

"Do you like me?"

I didn't think much of it, "Well, yeah, you're a –"

Before I could finish my sentence, I was cut off by a pair of lips pressed against mine. My eyes widened; if I wasn't awake before, I was now. I panicked and pushed him away before standing up.

"Kenny, I –"

"No, it's my fault," He admitted. "I'm sorry."

I sighed, "Um, I'm going to go."

"Where are you going to stay?" He asked.

I shrugged, "I don't know; Kyle's house?"

"Figures," He muttered.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked. He was acting weird and I didn't like it. Was it all because I refused to kiss him back? I panicked; I wasn't ready for something like that.

"You're always hanging out with Kyle while I'm the one looking out for you!" He didn't yell it, because his family was asleep, but it was a sort of raspy whisper; the rasp in his voice sounded familiar but I couldn't put my finger on exactly why.

"I don't even understand you," I said. "I'm sorry. I'll see you at school."

With that, I headed to Kyle's house. I went into his backyard once I got there and threw a rock at his window, hoping it wouldn't cause a crack. No reply; I threw another. After a moment, his light turned on and he opened his window.

"Emma?" He called.

"Can I stay here?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'll be down in a minute."

I sat on his back porch and waited. Tears streamed down my face as I put my head into my hands, trying to pace my breaths. I heard his door open and then close again, but I didn't move. I could hear him sit down next to me and I sat up.

"What happened?" He asked, a worried look on his face.

I didn't say anything; I just wrapped my arms around him and cried into his shoulder. We sat like that for a few minutes, until the weeping stopped and I wiped my eyes on my sleeve. I looked down at my watch; it was three in the morning. I could go home soon. I knew the next school day would be rough.

"What can I do?" Kyle asked.

My mind flew away from my thoughts and into the present.

"Nothing, it's fine, I'll just go home," I said, a bit anxiously. I felt bad that I'd interrupted his sleep and distressed him.

"Will you tell me what happened first?" He asked. It wasn't a pressured question, I knew that; he was just worried. I think he was my best friend – well, Henrietta was, too, but not as consistently. I didn't feel the need to put walls up when he was around.

"Kenny kissed me," I admitted. That wasn't the whole of it, but I didn't need him worrying about how I ended up taking Butters' bike five miles away to the Goth kid's house. "And, I pissed him off, I guess. But I just didn't expect it and it freaked me out."

"Damn," was all Kyle responded with. He stood up and took my hand to make me stand too, "Come on, let's get you home. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

I didn't notice it until we were approaching my house, but we never let go of each other's hands. I didn't know how I felt about that, though. It made me nervous.

"Kyle, I –" I stopped myself. "Never mind, thanks for walking me home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Actually, more like four hours," He said.

"Same thing," I laughed and he chuckled with me.


	17. Chapter 17

I didn't sleep; when I got home, I made coffee and worked on my homework. I had only been here a little over a month and I couldn't believe everything that happened. I wondered just how much more shit I could be put through before I freaked out. Last night's events were stressful and I didn't know how I'd face any of my friends… maybe I'd sit with Wendy and the girls at lunch today or maybe I'd just leave school and go to Benny's with Michael to help him avoid the lovebirds; I hoped Firkle would be over the flu soon because I didn't want to leave Michael alone, but I also didn't want to feel like I was his babysitter – I was a year younger than him, anyways.

I didn't just sip my coffee this morning; I devoured cup after cup; I needed energy – and it brought my mood up – if I were to deal with the day; I wondered if this was why Tweek drank what looked like gallons of coffee a day; I wondered what kind of pain he must be going through, but I didn't want to pry. I'd ask when I got the chance, I knew.

I wondered if dad would let me skip school; it was worth a shot. I never got sick and I hardly stayed home from school; I hadn't since we got to South Park, so a sick day would be a good idea; but then again, I might look like a wimp, but I doubted Kyle would tell anyone what happened with Kenny anyways, so I'd probably be in the clear. It was approaching six by the time I was done my homework and I got back in bed. I fell asleep not long after; approaching eight, I heard my door open and opened my eyes.

"Hey, kiddo, how was last night?" Dad asked. "It's already eight. You have to bring Van to school soon."

I feigned a cough, "I had to leave early because I got a headache and I don't feel great."

He sighed and thought for a minute, "I'll let you stay home today if you bring Van to school. And then afterschool, if you're feeling up for it, we'll take that trip to the coffee shop I've been talking about."

I sat up, faking weakness, "Okay."

"I've got to get to work,' He said. "Get some rest."

I nodded and he left. Immediately, I went to Van's room and woke him up.

"Van, you're running late, hun, get your clothes and I'll go make you toast," I said.

He groaned but nonetheless got up after a minute and I ran downstairs to make him a small portable breakfast and packed his lunchbox. Not three minutes later, he arrived downstairs, bag packed and all; I packed up his lunchbox and gave him his toast and we walked to school; we were running late, so even if I wanted to talk to Henrietta, she'd already left probably ten minutes before.

"Have fun at school," I said, hugging him.

"Are you not coming in?" He asked, looking confused.

"Not today, sweetie, but I'll see you this afternoon," I smiled.

"Oh, well tonight I'm staying over Ike's house," He grinned wide.

"Awesome," I said. "Well, get going; you can blame your lateness on me."

He nodded and trotted inside.

"Why are yuh-you st-still in your pa-pa... paj… night clothes?" Jimmy asked and I turned around to face him.

"I don't feel great, so I just dropped Van off to school, but I'm going back home," I told him. "I didn't sleep last night, honestly."

"Do yuh-you want to talk about it?" He asked.

"Don't you have to get to class?"

He looked around; everyone was already inside, including administration.

"Nuh-no," He grinned.

"What a _rebel_ ," I gave a sarcastic laugh. "Okay, let's go for a walk."

We walked down to Stark's Pond, since nobody was really over there in the mornings, besides a few fishermen who I knew wouldn't pay us any mind.

"Last night, Kenny tried to kiss me," I admitted; I knew I could trust Jimmy.

"Oh w-wow," He said. "Did yuh-you kuh-kiss him b-back?"

I shook my head, "No. It caught me off guard."

"Did you want ti-to?" He asked.

"No! I mean, I don't think so," I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not really good with this kind of stuff. I wish I didn't have to deal with this kind of stuff yet; I'm only in fourth grade."

"Yuh-yeah," He said. "But, if everyone ex- expec… wants you tuh-to, muh-maybe, you should d-do it."

"You think?" I asked. "If I dated someone, I'd be left alone."

"Yuh-yeah," He grinned.

"I mean I guess I could try," I said. "Wendy offered to help me. I'll just call her tonight. Thanks Jimmy."

I hugged him.

"Yuh-you're welcome, Em," He said.

Later that day, I went back to the school to pick up Van from school with a bit more of a pep in my step. I felt like I was figuring out how elementary school worked finally, which was ironic because I'd be moving to intermediate school in the next two years; I suppose that's how it was supposed to work though; you learned how to get along with the crowd once it was too late to enjoy too much of it and then you restarted your journey of the food chain. I mean, I knew it wouldn't be much, but to get people like Wendy to get off my back about boys, it seemed to be the only way, even if I wasn't ready yet.

I didn't know who I'd pick though; I mean, someone cute and nice was all the criteria most of the girls seemed to need, so I guess that was my criteria, which only left a few options who were both. Of course, I'd have to consult with Wendy to make sure. The only thing that worried me was losing Michael and Firkle's friendship because I'd be becoming a conformist by dating someone, like what happened with Pete and Henrietta; I hoped they'd make up soon, though…

When I got home, I picked up the home phone and dialed Wendy's. She picked up and I told her to meet me at my house; it would be a few hours until dad got off work anyways; and I doubted he'd remember to take me to coffee.

She arrived a few minutes later, which gave me enough time to set Van up in his bedroom with his homework and make him a cut up apple with nut butter.

I made a kettle of oolong tea and brought it into the living room with tea cups for her arrival. When I heard a knock on the door, I let her in and we sat in the living room on the floor, across from each other at the coffee table.

"So, what's up, Emma?" She beamed.

"If I date someone, will that make me fit in?" I asked.

She shrugged and took a sip of her tea, "I don't know for sure. Maybe. Why?"

"Because I considered your offer…"

"You're going to let us help you find a boy!" She squealed. "Sorry. I just get excited, you know? All the other girls are stuck up and argue about whose going to finally talk to Clyde that it's just frustrating… You don't want to date Clyde, do you?"

"Why would I want to date Clyde? He acts so weird around me." I laughed. "You wouldn't believe what Craig said to me the other day in detention."

"What?" She asked.

"He said something about how it wasn't him and he wanted to apologize and talk," I giggled. "I wouldn't let him."

"So, Craig's off the list, too," She said. "Well, that leaves Kenny, Kyle, Eric – but _please_ don't say Eric – um… Token, if he's not with Nichole right now; they're kind of on and off… Hey, wait, don't you like that emo kid?"

"Who, Michael?" I asked, a bit stunned. He was Goth, but I didn't feel like correcting her.

"Yeah, why not him? I mean, you might get made fun of by Eric, but the others wouldn't really care."

"I mean, I don't know if that would work," I stammered.

"Why not?"

"Because he thinks dating is for conformists. And, he's a year older!"

"Well, things work differently here than New York, Emma," She said.

That was what Henrietta said to me a few weeks ago. But, he also clearly called me his _friend_. I didn't think it would work – it couldn't. He was Goth and I was… not applicable; my style wasn't definite, but it was most definitely the opposite of Goth and opposites don't attract no matter what movies said.

"I mean, if not him, who would you go for?" She asked. "Don't you hang out with Jimmy and Tweek a lot? I mean, I don't know if Tweek is even interested in dating, but Jimmy definitely is – maybe a little eager, but sweet."

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I mean, Jimmy's like my best friend."

"Oooh, that's rough," She said. "So, he's out. Too bad; I think Stan said he likes you."

I chuckled with disbelief; Stan was probably lying to her. I couldn't imagine Jimmy liking me ever; he was too sweet and innocent, at least that's the perception I got from him. I thought about last night's events and as much as I didn't think it could work and didn't really, truly in my heart, want to date anyone, I did think of Kenny and Kyle. But I was still a bit afraid of Kenny after what he did and I didn't want to get caught up with his friend, or whatever, Mysterion, either. So, that left Kyle; I mean, his family was nice and Van loved hanging out with Ike. My dad also got along pretty well with his parents, since they were a bit more normal than Stan's. He'd probably be the only one I'd get approval to date from my dad, too.

"Um, what about Kyle?"


	18. Chapter 18

Wendy thought for a moment before smiling.

"I have just the idea," She stood up. "Let's go to Stan's house to devise a plan; he knows him best. Then, after, I'll text the girls in for a meeting."

I stood up, "Okay, let me put the tea away first."

I took the kettle and mugs into the kitchen, with the help of Wendy, and then we headed out to Stan's.

I knocked on the door once we arrived; after a few seconds, I was greeted by his mom who told us that Stan was at Kyle's house and we left.

"Well, what now?" I asked Wendy as we wandered the streets.

"Um…. Let's go over Kyle's house and hang out with them and I'll see if I can get Stan alone to talk to him," She said.

"So, I have to distract Kyle?" I asked, nervous.

"Essentially," She beamed. "But you like him so it shouldn't be too hard."

I sighed and we went with her plan; Kyle's dad let us in and we went upstairs to Kyle's room. Upon knocking, Kyle asked, "What's up, mom?"

"Kahyl, can you take out the trash?" I tried my best impression of his mother; it was horrendously hilarious.

Wendy looked at me, unable to contain the hilarity. We both laughed; they could tell it was us and Stan opened the door to let us in.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked.

"Your mom said you weren't home," Wendy said. "And I need to talk to you."

"Why'd you drag her along then?" Stan asked.

"Because… I saw her walking around and we were going to hang out after," She said.

"Oh… kay…" Stan said. "So, what's up?"

Wendy sighed, "In _private_ , Stanley."

Stan looked at Kyle and said, "Be right back." Before walking into the hall, door closed, with Wendy.

I was left alone with Kyle. It felt awkward knowing what would eventually occur.

"Why weren't you at school today?" Kyle asked. "It wasn't because of Kenny, right?"

I shook my head, "No, I just didn't sleep last night, so I figured I'd be useless going anyways and I didn't want to deal with the Goth kids' drama."

"Goth kids' drama?"

"Yeah, they're split right now because Michael and Firkle are pissed at Henrietta and Pete for being conformists," I sighed. "It's really frustrating and hard to explain. They're like my one stable friend group, since it seems like the boys keep fluctuating on whether they want to be my friend or not."

"That sucks ass," He said.

"Yeah, well life could get worse," I shrugged. "I've been nervous about my dad because I heard him muttering about how work sucks, but that's beside the point. How was your day?"

"You don't really want to know," He said.

"Really, what?" I asked.

"Well, Cartman harassed me all day because Hanukkah is starting soon," He began. "And Kenny's pissed because he found out that you came over my house because Butters saw you. And, Clyde's been weird lately, so he kind of ignored everyone except Craig today. Oh, and Jimmy was acting kind of weird, but I guess that's normal for him, I don't know."

I didn't know what to say so I gave him a sympathetic look. Before either of us could say anything else, Stan burst through the door with Wendy behind him.

"You okay, Stan?" Kyle asked, startled at the sudden reappearance.

"We have to go over Cartman's house," He said, kind of pissed. Did this have to do with their conversation? "Something happened; call Kenny. I'll meet you there."

He left. I looked at Wendy for guidance and she shook her head; so I assumed it didn't have to do with their conversation.

"Well, we've got to get going," Wendy said. I stood up. "See you, Kyle."

He waved goodbye and we were on our way.

"What the hell happened?" I asked. "Is it serious?"

"Probably not; Eric likes to scare them when he doesn't get the attention he craves"

I kind of felt bad for him, though I would never admit it; I knew he was rude but I didn't know too much about him. I wished I had the chance to get to know him better, but I probably never would. I assumed it was for the better. Wendy took me to Bebe's house and we went to her room where a small tea party was set up.

"Okay, girls," Bebe said. "Time to start the meeting."

In the room sat Heidi, Nichole, Red, and a few others. Wendy and I took seats around the tea table and were handed cups; we poured our tea and the meeting commenced.

"I'm not sure if this will sparkle will all the girls," Wendy began, sipping her tea. "But, we're here today to get Emma a boyfriend."

I blushed; I didn't know if I was ready for this. There was no turning back now though, especially after all the work Wendy has put into this. I had to at least try it; I was just scared that if Kyle did like me, that I'd eventually break his heart and lose his friendship.

"Ooh, who?" Heidi asked.

"Yeah, tell us," Bebe requested.

My blush deepened and I put my head down, wishing I could hide in my hoodie that I wasn't wearing today.

"Kyle," Wendy said.

"What?" Bebe gasped.

"But he's Jewish," Red exclaimed.

"Yeah, have you seen his hair?" Nichole practically shrieked.

"Guys, be nice," Heidi said. "We all have our types."

"Says the girl who likes Eric _freaking_ Cartman," Red spat.

"I thought she liked the emo kid," Bebe said. "So, at least it's not as bad."

"He's not emo," I muttered, but nobody heard me. I sighed and drifted into my own universe as Wendy talked with the girls.

"So, Emma," Wendy said, snapping me out of my daze. "Are you cool with the plan?"

I hadn't heard the plan, but I just nodded my head. I was growing tired; it was a long day without sleep and caffeine only got me so far. I looked at my watch; it was only six, so dad was probably getting home soon if he wasn't already.

"I have to go home," I said, standing up. "But, I'll see you guys tomorrow, alright?"

" _Girls_ ," Bebe corrected.

"Sorry," I said and left.

On my walk home, I accidently ran into Kyle, Stan, and Kenny who were leaving Eric's house. I wanted to avoid them, but knew that I would look like an asshole, so I waved.

"Hey, Emma," Stan said, giving me a weird look. I wondered what Wendy had said to him. The others said hello after, but Kenny was clearly trying to avoid my gaze.

"So, is Eric okay?" I asked.

Kyle rolled his eyes, "Yeah, fat ass just pranked us. He got his mom to call Stan too, which is why we actually believed it this time."

"Mmmph," Kenny muttered, but I assumed it was directed towards Eric and not me.

"Anyways, we're sleeping over Kyle's tonight, so if you want to join us later, you can," Stan said.

"Um, I don't know if I can," I shrugged. "I'll see you guys later."

I walked home. Dad was, as assumed, passed out on the sofa; he'd been doing this for the past few days, since he told me he was miserable at work. I worried for him. I walked upstairs, tucked Van into bed for the night and stayed awake. I waited to see if the Mysterion character would arrive – less out of fear and more curiosity. He knew Kenny. I wanted to know more about him. He never showed up and if he did, I was asleep by the time he did. However, around three in the morning, I was awoken by a banging on my window.

"What the fuck," I muttered. I drew the curtain open, "Mysterion?"

It was dark so I couldn't tell and I opened my window. It looked like a kid in a bug costume.

"I am Mosquito," He buzzed. "Mysterion cannot keep you safe if he is avoiding you. Beware, human, for I, Mosquito, will make your life a living hell."

"Dad!" I screamed.

By the time my dad came into my room, the bug boy was gone and I apologized for frightening him. I didn't sleep for the rest of the night. I felt like my nightmares were only beginning in the small mountain town.

...

 _Hey, dudes and chicks! Let me know what you think with a review? Have any requests? Have someone else in mind for Emma? I might... Lemme know :) thanks for reading and I'll see y'all tomorrow afternoon/evening for another post._


	19. Chapter 19

I woke up with a headache; it was probably due to the lack of sleep I've felt over the past few days. Nonetheless, I got up and began my day. Following my usual routine of coffee and cooking, I also made time to style my hair in a cute way since that's what Wendy requested; I straightened it since I didn't know what else to do; after that, I put on a beanie, because I knew it would be freezing out – at least during our morning walk. I brushed light makeup over my face and helped Van start his day. Dad went to work early, mumbling about something on his way out that I didn't fully catch – he didn't sound happy. Again, I worried, but would remain silent until he felt comfortable telling me his situation; he usually came around after a week of struggling, so I would wait patiently.

On the way to school, I talked to Henrietta and Van talked to Bradley; she asked me how I was, how Michael was – she seemed upset that him and Firkle left them. I really wished there was a way to get them back together again. Maybe if Henrietta and Pete stopped dating – which was bound to happen eventually with how their personalities mingled.

Once we got to school, I departed from the group and went to Garrison's class. Upon walking in, I was met with strange gazes and I feared judgement – why was I being looked at? What did they know? I sighed and tried to ignore them, moving to my seat. Before I sat down, Jimmy came over to me.

"Hey, Jimmy, what's up?" I smiled.

"Oh, nuh-noth-nothing much," He said. "Craig wuh-wants to talk to yuh-you."

I sighed, once more, "I know. But why?"

"Bec- because, it's nuh-not his fault," He said.

"Then whose is it?" I asked.

Before Jimmy answered me, Mr. Garrison told us to sit in our seats so he could start today's lecture. I was frustrated – I wanted to know what was going on. Was it Eric – did he have a reason to plot against me?

My focus drowned in my own sea of anxiety; I was nervous for recess because that was probably when Wendy's plan was going to go down; I wished I didn't zone out on their conversation – I wished I could back out and save dating for another few years or travel back in time and stay in NY so I wouldn't have to deal with this stress; nobody talked to me back then so it wouldn't matter.

We were dismissed for lunch and I bolted to my locker before anybody could stop me to chat. I put all my books away and grabbed out my lunchbox – after the first two weeks, I started packing lunch since they only served pizza and chicken strips. When I went to close my locker, I noticed Tweek approaching me.

"Hey, Tweek," I greeted.

"Oh, erm, hi!" He was a bit more frazzled than usual today and that was saying something.

"You okay?" I asked.

"It's just… stress," He said.

I gave him a look of sympathy, "Want to talk about it at lunch? We can go out to the courtyard. Since the Goth kids disbanded, I haven't seen them there – at least, not all of them."

"Okay," He said and we walked outside.

We were greeted by a sulking Michael when we went outside; Firkle must've still been sick.

"Hey, Michael, how's it going?" I asked and we sat down next to him.

He shrugged, "Could be better. I heard shit went down after you left the other night, though. That sucks."

"It's spreading?" I gasped. "How?"

"Fat-ass," He said. Eric? Really? Kenny told _Eric_?

"I'm glad you didn't actually kiss him back though," Michael said and I could've sworn my heart stopped briefly.

"Really?" I asked, sounding a bit more drawn than I should have.

"Yeah," He said. "I mean, all those conformists out there with their dating and shit; everyone's a Britney or Justin wannabe, you know?"

I dropped my head, "Yeah, I know."

I needed to stop being so hopeful and accept that I'd already made my choice; I didn't know when it would happen, but I knew Wendy was going to help. Tweek and I sat on the bottom steps, below Michael.

"What's going on, Tweek?"

I hoped he felt comfortable confiding around Michael; I knew he didn't care enough to even listen to the conversation, as he dragged his cigarette, sighing.

"It's just… Jimmy – he keeps trying to tell you," He started, but then stopped.

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"That Clyde's a dick," Michael muttered.

My eyes widened and I looked up at him, puzzled.

"We all know except you," He sighed, standing up and stomping on his finished cigarette. He walked down the steps to face us, leaning on his cane. "It started when you began hanging out with us, not because you're a chick."

"Yeah," Tweek agreed, spazzing a bit in the process. "Craig knew and didn't really care."

"Yeah, so now him and his gay superhero friends are plotting against you," Michael sighed. "It's just mainstream gossip…"

"Superheros? You mean…" I thought for a moment. That Mysterion person; was he Clyde? Or, what about the Mosquito he kept mentioning every time I saw him? It would make more sense that Mosquito would be Clyde, because Mysterion had a deep connection, it seemed, with Kenny, and Clyde seldom spoke to Kenny from what I could see.

"It's a game we play," Tweek admitted. "But, there are a few people who take it too seriously and think they actually have powers… like Kenny… and, like Clyde."

What?

 ** _I kind of hate this chapter, but I wanted to get something out before y'all abandoned me. I can't promise I'll post consistently, I can only promise to try with how hectic my life has been lately. Thanks for understanding and Ill try to write a better chapter next time._**


	20. Notice

Hey, guys. I know I haven't been consistent in a while & I apologize. I will be returning Sunday March 18th and will have at least one decent sized chapter out a week, if not two.

If you've been curious as to what I've been doing, I am in college & my classes are becoming a strain. I also have been working on my YouTube channel: Cassadelic. I have plenty of South Park inspired content on there in case you're interested; not trying to advertise, just trying to explain.

Thanks, I hope you understand. Please message with any concerns.

xoxo


	21. Chapter 20

I didn't understand and I didn't think I wanted to either. Kenny was a superhero; did that mean he was Mysterion? Or have I not met his alias yet? Who is Mysterion? He hasn't visited the past week like he usually did; I'd come to wonder if he was my guardian angel until he abandoned me. It didn't matter; what did matter was that I had to figure out what Clyde – or Clyde's alias' – problem was; I didn't want to; superhero games were stupid, but I was told that this is how it worked in South Park.

Last week, Wendy was supposed to tell Kyle that I liked him, but she said that last minute, she had a meeting with the girls and they said that it wouldn't sparkle with them if they helped me and that I was on my own; Wendy later told me, in private, that Bebe had a crush on Kyle but wouldn't say it because he was Jewish and "a weird ginger" and that's why they wouldn't help me – but she wished me luck if I wanted to pursue it. I figured, whatever happens would happen; if he liked me, I'd date him but if another boy liked me – who wasn't Eric – then maybe I'd date them, as long as they were nice.

It was Sunday; dad was still acting weird and I was fed up, so I decided to talk to him about it because he was clearly going to continue avoiding the topic; whatever it was – it was probably work or something. Going downstairs, I caught his attention as he sat on the sofa with a beer in hand.

"Dad, I'm worried about you," I said. "You've been mopey, you haven't made any friends, and you don't even talk to me or Van anymore."

He looked at me and sighed, setting his can on the side table, "You're right."

"I am?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes, and I really wish you weren't," He said.

"Dad, what–"

"We have to move back to New York."

I didn't know what to think; what could I think? Right as I finally felt like I was starting to form bonds with people in South Park, I'd have to move back to the busiest, shittiest place in the country. And why? Because business, in a small, cheap, leisurely town was slow; so instead of staying, we'd have to move back to the hustle and bustle of dad working his ass off for us to afford a studio apartment in Manhattan.

I didn't want to tell anyone – I couldn't. But, I couldn't disappear on them either. Dad said he'd give it a week and then put in his resignation at Wendy's mom's office; in the meantime, he'd see if there were any decent full time jobs, which he doubted.

After dinner was finished that night and I washed the dishes off, I grabbed my coat and went out for a walk. I didn't know if I was going to go anywhere specific or not, although I didn't think it mattered anyways. I considered telling someone, but who would I tell? Michael? His house was far. I could go over Kyle's house or… Kenny's house – but I didn't know how I felt around Kenny anymore. I missed him and maybe, if I hadn't been half asleep and upset, I would've kissed him back – just maybe.

I just kept walking; it was only seven, and I was allowed to be out until nine on school nights as long as I didn't leave the neighborhood and stayed under street lights. Eventually, I decided to go over Kyle's house, because I didn't know what else to do. When he answered the door, he was wearing a kite on his back.

"What's with the get up?" I giggled.

"Oh, shoot," He ran off, leaving me at the door. Two minutes later, he came back in his pajamas. "What's up?"

"I needed to talk to someone," I admitted.

He let me inside, "So you came to me?"

"I trust you," I shrugged. "I'd go to Wendy, but she makes everything an ordeal with the rest of the girls."

"Yeah, girls are weird," He stopped walking and then looked at me. "I mean, not you, of course – but, most girls, or erm..."

I gave him a reassuring smile and put my hand on his shoulder, "Chill, it's all good."

He let out a breath he had been holding in and seemed to relax.

"Oh, hi, Emma, dear," His mom saw us – we had almost made it upstairs, out of adult territory – oh well. "What brings you here so late?"

That's a good question; I didn't really know. I mean, I needed someone to confide in but I didn't really want her to know that because she might've embarrassed us if I said that. When I didn't answer, Kyle stepped in and said:

"Oh, well, she needed help on her homework and Mr. Garrison never looks at his emails."

"Oh, really now? I guess I'll have to send him a harsh letter, then," She turned to go back into the kitchen where I saw Gerald and Ike having ice cream and, what I assumed to be, bonding time. "Nice seeing you, Emma; stay as long as you'd like."

"Thanks!"

After that, we were able to retreat into his room.

"What's going on, Emma?"

"I think I'm moving back to New York," I sighed.

"When?" He asked.

I shrugged, "A few weeks. Dad said that if he can't find business within the next week, we're going to start the process."

He was silent for a moment.

"Well, why can't you stay and live with us?" He asked, sounding a bit panicked.

I shook my head, "Kyle, that's irrational; I can't abandon my family and I wouldn't burden yours. Maybe in ten years, I'll be able to come back here for college, but until then, I have to do what's best for my family."

He hung his head low, "I understand. Are you going to tell the others?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe Tweek, maybe Michael and Jimmy. I don't think too many will care. Anyways, I've got to get going home. Thanks for letting me vent."

I turned to leave. He grabbed my shoulder, "Wait."

I turned around and was thrown into an engulfing hug; he hugged tighter than mom did. It felt nice.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too."

I had almost made it home until I heard a low, gravelly voice behind me that made me jump.

"Hello, Emma."

I turned around to face Mysterion, somewhat thankful it was him and not a random guy wielding an axe. I wasn't afraid of him anymore, rather surprised.

"Hello, Mysterion," I greeted, with the same blank stare he directed at me. "Long time, no see."

"Mosquito is still after you. Join me, and you will be safe," He extended his hand.

I took a step back, "Excuse me?"

"Become a Freedom Pal."

 **If y'all enjoyed this, please support by favoriting and following; feel free to leave a review letting me know what kind of things you'd like to see in the future or a DM letting me know what kind of stories y'all would like to see on the site for the future. If you just cannot simply get enough of South Park, feel free to subscribe to Cassadelic on YouTube, where (when college isn't a drag) I make at least two videos a week, usually one having to do with some aspect of South Park.**

 **Thanks guys - sorry it took me so long to update. College kind of creates writers block, since it drains creativity, but I might be transferring to a uni soon, so all is well.**

 **Have a rad weekend :)**


	22. Chapter 21

I didn't know what a Freedom Pal was, nor did I want to be one. As I turned to walk away from him, he grabbed my shoulder and turned me back around.

"What?" I demanded. "I have to get home. Listen, you seemed cool at first, but now you're just weird. Leave me alone."

"You don't understand," He insisted.

"I don't care." I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and turned to leave.

"I'll be back, you know."

The walk – or rather jog – home was chilling after that. Oh, how I desperately wished I had a cell phone so I could text Michael and tell him what happened. I couldn't sleep that night, to say the least.

…

I didn't talk to anyone for the next two days; I just had no energy to and they didn't expect me to. I didn't know if Kyle told anyone or not and I didn't really care. My silence broke when Garrison got a call from PC Principal during class, telling me to report to his office. The whole room, except Jimmy, Kyle, and Tweek, made obnoxious teasing gasps as I exited the room. I didn't do anything wrong, so I only wondered why I was being called down. Once I arrived, I knocked once at his office door, afraid to enter without permission.

"Entre-vue," PC Principal said in a stale, yet uplifting tone. As I entered, he continued, "Oh, hello, Emma. I requested you today because I heard you've been a bit upset lately and I was wondering what I could do to assist you."

I sat in the chair in front of his desk, "Isn't that Mackey's job?"

"Mr. Mackey has been sent to a retreat to learn better communication skills," PC Principal explained. "He was saying some pretty disrespectful things about the students in the staff room. Anyways, I just want you to know, that if you're depressed, we are here to help. Care to tell what's going on?"

I sighed, "There's nothing you can do to help, as much as I appreciate it. My dad's losing his job because of the economy here so we're going to have to move back to New York. I just don't want to go. New York sucked."

"Where does your dad work?"

"At some company that Wendy's mom owns, I think," I shrugged.

"Hmm, I see, let me just take a look at something quick," He was quiet for a moment, typing into a computer. After a moment, he perked up, "Oh, that's your dad? I see. I will see what I can do to fix the situation, Emma."

"Excuse me?" I asked, completely lost.

"Don't worry about it; I will be calling your father to assess the situation later. Please return to class."

I left his office, completely confused about what the hell he was even talking about. On my way back to class, I ran into Henrietta. She was crying, sitting against the lockers.

"Henrietta, you okay?"

I hadn't talked to her for a while, so I wasn't sure how to approach her. I just went to sit next to her on the floor, hoping she wouldn't be uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine, can't you see?" She wiped her face into her dress. There wasn't really a stain; I guess that was a perk to being Goth.

"You don't look fine," I sighed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"We broke up, okay? You guys were all right. Dating is for fucking conformists. I'm so glad I'm not one," She started to lose her edge towards the end, tearing up a bit.

"Dude, dating isn't just for conformists and it's okay that it didn't work out," I said. "It's not the end of the world, and even if it was, that's your goal in life anyways, so why worry?"

She breathed deeply, "You're right I guess. He's a total loser anyways."

"I'm sure he is," I chuckled.

Before I got up to return to class, Michael found us in the hall and stopped to talk to us.

"I heard what happened," He said. "I guess that means we're all good now."

Henrietta shrugged, "Whatever." She stood up, straightened her dress, and walked off.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked him.

"Pete said he was sick of the feeling of 'love'," Michael shrugged. "It was about damn time. Love is shit; it always fails eventually."

I sighed, "Is this because of your parents?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" His tone became slightly defensive.

"You always say that love is lame because if it didn't work for your parents, it won't work for you, but you don't know that, Michael," I said, finally getting out what I felt.

"That's not true," He cried out.

"Yes it is," I retaliated, frustrated.

It was quiet for a minute. He was thinking. Finally he sighed.

"You're just like them, Em. I thought you were different."

I thought for a minute, but my feet were too fast for my brain, so I had to commit to it or it would be even more awkward. I stepped forward and grabbed one of his hands and looked at him.

"But, I am different."

Hesitantly, I kissed his cheek, even though it was covered in makeup.

 **Happy Passover, Easter, & April Fools Day. I thought I'd give y'all a gift. Let me know what you think!**

 **Also, for more South Park throughout the week, go ahead and check out my YouTube channel; here's the link if you're too lazy. channel/UC6zhlTQ8EhkSLE2Jy-1GW5g?view_as=subscriber**

 _ **The more feedback I receive, the more willing I am to take time out of my busy schedule to post more than twice a month; share the love. Peace out.**_


	23. Chapter 22

He didn't say anything, he just looked at me. Or was it glaring? I couldn't tell. I waited to see if he'd respond. He didn't. Embarrassed, I dropped the bag I was carrying with me and booked it off to the girl's bathroom, crying tears of irrationalized frustration. Closing a stall door and locking it, I slid my back against it until I was sitting in front of a toilet, crying in my hands. What was I thinking? I sat like this for a few minutes.

Then a thought flashed in my mind: I was leaving soon. It didn't matter. But, at the same time, as I knew it didn't matter, I was still so angry that I befriended people anyways. I wished that I'd just stayed in New York because leaving would be so difficult. All the friends I made – all the enemies.

I sat for a few more minutes before the bathroom door opened and I heard Wendy's voice:

"Emma?"

I didn't respond.

"I know you're in here. The Goth girl is worried about you."

"Henrietta," I sighed, quietly. "Her name is Henrietta."

"Huh? Will you just come out and tell me what's going on?" She asked.

"I'm moving back home, Wendy," I said. "My dad isn't making enough anymore – it's not stable. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"But, Emma, South Park is your home."

I could hear her getting upset. Sighing, I wiped my eyes, hoping I forgot to wear makeup, and unlocked the stall door.

"No more than New York is."

"But, you said it yourself!" She demanded, in that high pitched girly voice that girls make when they're upset. "You have friends here."

"Yeah friends, and people who want me dead, apparently," I sighed.

"Dead? Who?"

"It's not a bi–"

"I swear if the boys are playing superhero and scaring you, we can get back at them!" She said.

Playing superhero? Mysterion? Mosquito? Were those aliases. But, for who.

"Do you know who's been harassing you?"

I shrugged, "Just some guys named Mysterion and I think Mosquito – but I've never really seen Mosquito, not that I remember."

She huffed, "Oh good grief, come with me."

She took my arm and rushed me into the hall. I guess the bell for lunch had rang because the halls were somewhat full of kids. She kept dragging me until we were standing in front of the four best friends.

"Kenny, would you tell her what the hell is going on," Wendy demanded.

"Mmmph?"

"What's going on, Wendy?" Stan asked.

"Your girlfriend's on her period, man," Eric exclaimed, laughing to himself – Kenny chuckled briefly.

"Emma, you okay?" Kyle asked.

I shrugged, "Wendy dragged me here." I didn't really know why I was here and kind of just wanted to go home and ditch the second half of the day – hopefully, I'd be able to after this fiasco.

"Emma told me she's been harassed in the night by superheroes," Wendy said, in a blaming tone; she looked at Kenny, whose face fell.

"Oh shit, Kenny," Stan said.

"Alright, what the hell is going on?" I asked, fed up.

"Mmph Myphhsm," Kenny said, looking at me.

I looked toward the boys to translate what he said.

"He said, 'I'm Mysterion'," Stan and Kyle said, overlapping each other's words.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, a bit freaked out.

"It's his alias," Eric said. "A lame one at that. _The Coon_ is much cooler, if I do say so myself. I wonder who The Coon is though, don't you?"

"Nobody cares, fat ass," Stan jabbed.

"Mmmph!" Kenny exclaimed frustrated.

"What?" I asked.

"I can't tell what he said," Kyle shrugged.

Before I could ask, Kenny stormed off, looking as pissed off as one could with a jacket suffocating their body. Nobody went after him. I stopped asking questions about the superheroes. I stopped worrying for the rest of the day. The day went by and dragged into night.

By the time that I was helping dad wash dishes, he got an email on his phone. I didn't know what it was but he looked surprised and left the room in exchange for his laptop. Once the dishes were done, I went out to the living room where Van and dad were and sat on the sofa to watch television with them. Dad was still on his laptop.

"What's going on?" I asked. "You've been on there for a half hour."

"I'm just surprised," He said. "My old frat buddy, PC, has been emailing with me. Apparently he lives in South Park now….. Actually, apparently he's your school principal, shit."

He closed his laptop, "I'll be upstairs. I have to run over a couple things for work and then get some sleep if I'm going to continue this job hunt. If not, we've only got tomorrow and the weekend and then we're out. Sorry to be blunt, kiddo. Goodnight."

He was acting a bit weird, but I didn't really say anything else. Instead, I helped Van get some sleep and went to my bedroom to get ready for bed on my own. It seemed weird that I had to take over my mom's role with Van after she passed away – I mean, obviously not immediately, but once I was old enough. I didn't mind it, I just didn't understand it. I hoped dad would find someone to be our new mom in South Park, but since we were leaving, I supposed it was too late to hope.

After I finally fell asleep that night, I was almost immediately woken up by the sound of air coming into my room. Eyes opened, my pupils adjusted to the light – there was a low glow from the moon. My window was opened. Without thinking too much, I got up to close it. When I turned around to get back into bed, there he was. Mysterion.

I almost screamed, but calmed myself down after realizing what it was.

"Okay, who the hell are you and what the hell do you want?" I demanded.


	24. Chapter 23

"I came to warn you," Mysterion said.

I backed up against the window as he hovered closer to me.

"Who the hell are you?"

"That doesn't matter. What does is that you need to _stop_ getting involved," He growled.

"You're the one involving me!?" I whisper shouted in confusion. "It doesn't matter anyways because you won't be able to catch me anymore soon."

"Why is that?" He seemed confused, backing up.

"I'm moving," I smiled. "And you can't follow me and harass me anymore."

"What the fuck," He said, his voice cracking into a childlike hum – it sounded like Stan's voice.

"Stan?" I asked, bewildered.

I walked up to him. I guess it would make sense if it was Stan, I mean Wendy did seem annoyed with him after she found out that Mysterion was harassing me. My hand moved to pull down his hood, but before I could, he grabbed my hand and gently shoved me back. Within the next few seconds, he was gone out the window again. I watched him disappear into the dimly lit night.

"I'm never going to understand anything in this town if everyone keeps running from me!" I huffed, kicking my bed frame. " _Dammit_!" I grabbed my foot, falling on my ass in pain.

Tears falling from my eyes, I looked to my clock to see that it was four in the morning. I hoped I didn't wake anyone up. Of course, being wrong, I heard a small knock on my door. Assuming it was my dad, I told him he could come in and wiped my eyes.

"Hey, kiddo, what's up?" He asked, placing himself on the bed as I sat on the floor.

"I'm just stressed out." _This random kid keeps harassing me in the night and I don't know who he is or what he wants._

"Want to talk about it?"

I sighed, "Not really."

He motioned for me to sit on the bed with him, so I did. By that time my foot ache ceased.

"Distressed about leaving Colorado?" He inquired.

I shrugged, "A little bit. I mean, I have friends here – kind of."

"Kind of?" He pressed.

"Yeah, well, sometimes, I feel like they all hate me," I admitted. "The girls are all weird, even Wendy sometimes. And my only friends are kind of lame in comparison to the others."

"Well, they can't be that lame if they're hanging out with you," He insisted, patting my head. "And, anyways, that Jimmy friend of yours seems like a pretty cool kid. Sure, he has a stutter and walks with crutches, but one day, he's going to do some pretty cool things."

"You think?" I asked.

"Of course. Kids like that flourish on other things to get attention. He keeps up with the others with his comedy – I mean, I've seen it. And you want to know why?"

"Why?"

He smiled, "Because his parents support him even with his handicap. They know he's destined to do great things. Same with your friend Tweek – yeah, he's kind of a spaz, but all that energy will one day turn into a creative drive. I wouldn't be surprised if he became an athlete or a musician."

"I mean, I guess – he is pretty good at piano," I sighed. Another bout of tears came out of my eyes as I buried my head into my knees, clutching them tightly to myself.

"It'll be okay," He assured me. "I can't make any promises, but I might have found my key to staying in South Park after all."

"Really?" I said, looking up.

"Yeah," He yawned. "Anyways, I'm driving you and Van to school today – we can pick up one of your friends if you'd like. I'll be getting a little extra snooze, but feel free to go make coffee and watch cartoons if you can't sleep."

I nodded. He left, closing the door behind him. I wanted to know what he meant by that and why he was driving us to school, but I knew that asking him would probably not get me anywhere considering that he was exhausted looking, so I chose to grab a book from under my bed and read for an hour. I'd find out soon enough, anyways, and that's all that mattered. I just really wanted to stay.

 **HEY SORRY ITS SO SHORT I figured y'all would prefer something over waiting another two days for me to come up with what to write next. Thank you guys. Have a rad weekend !**


	25. Chapter 24

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As promised, dad drove us to school a few hours later. I expected him to say he was going to go job hunting, but instead he parked by the school and came in with us. It was a little awkward until Van and I were able to retreat away at the sound of the bell. I didn't know why he came in with us, but didn't bother to ask – he had been acting weird anyways, so I doubted he'd even give me an honest answer.

On my way to class, I ran into the Goth kids, back together – except missing Michael, which I was both worried and thankful for. I didn't talk to him since the kiss – it wasn't even a real kiss but it was still a kiss and it worried me to no end. I couldn't believe I did something so reckless and stupid.

"Um, hey, guys," I said, awkwardly, hoping they didn't know what happened.

I could tell by Henrietta's face – and Wendy's comment from the other day in the bathroom – that she seemed to have a clue. The boys, however, were just down and out, as per usual.

"Oh, hey, Emma," Pete said, rolling his eyes. He did that a lot – it wasn't really to be offensive, more a sign of distress.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Michael's not replying to our messages," Firkle said.

"Yeah, and when he did answer the phone that one time, he sounded fucking emo," Henrietta included.

"Yeah," Pete's hair flipped out of his eyes, only to retreat back into his eyes. "It's annoying."

"Oh," I said, not wanting to say anything else.

It was silent for a moment, before a look struck on Henrietta's face, "You know something we don't know, don't you?"

"No, erm," I began, trying to walk away.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Pete asked.

Before they could continue to question me, the bell rang and I retreated to class. I was a few minutes late and had to sit in the back beside Tweek.

"Hey," I sighed, whispering as I sat.

"Hey," He wasn't good at whispering and Mr. Garrison glared our way.

"Tweek, Emma, quiet the hell down back there, I'm trying to teach a class!"

"Sorry, Mr. Garrison," I muttered, on Tweek's behalf due to the fact that he seemed stunned and already too hyped up for the day. I wondered if dad was right – would Tweek actually grow up to become a musician? Or was he just trying to make me feel better?

I hoped he would, but doubted his parents would support him in any endeavor that didn't involve coffee.

Class droned on. I ignored Eric's ever so insightful comments and the snickering coming from some of the boys. I didn't want to leave, but at the same time I couldn't wait. I needed a fresh start so desperately – even if I was returning back to the hell hole of the east coast again with all the preppy rich girls. I needed a place where I was accepted by more than the class spazz. My emotions felt so conflicted, that it made me dizzy and eventually, I fell asleep, my head resting on my hand.

I awoke at the ding of the bell, gathered my books, and was almost out the door when I ran into Kyle.

"Oh, hey, Kyle – what's up?"

"Nothing much, listen. I didn't want to get you involved but Cart– the Coon, told me to tell you to come down to our base tonight. It's, um, in his basement – Cartman's, I mean. He said he might be able to help you with your Mysterion problem."

"Oh? Do you know who that is?" I asked.

"It's technically Kenny, but Kenny's been acting out recently whenever he gets into character. It's kind of weird, but I think we might have to find a way to abandon our aliases so he'll stop pestering you. He used to just help the town, but now he's taking it too far."

I nodded, "Okay, I mean, I don't know how I can help," or how long I'll be here, "but, I'll be there, Kyle."

I was about to leave when he stopped me again.

"Oh, Em, um," He blushed. "Your hair looks… nice… today."

He walked off before I could, leaving me blushing and confused.

"What was that about?" Wendy asked.

"What?" I asked, a bit more panicked than I should have.

She didn't say anything, just waiting.

"Oh, I guess I'm joining their superhero game – apparently, we have to take down Mysterion, who is also Kenny, who is also their friend – but they want to take him down. I don't exactly get it, but I can pretend to."

"Boys will be boys – but, you are blushing," Wendy giggled. "If you like him, just tell him."

And then, as Kyle did, she left me, but nobody came after her. I just stood outside the classroom, confused and contemplating. I kissed a boy and he ran – I get complimented by another boy, and I blush, but… did I really want either of them? Or was I just experimenting? What was happening to me? And, better yet – would I have to be a superhero. I wasn't super and I wasn't really a hero. I didn't know how I got myself into such a mess by simply existing, but I hoped I'd find an escape – maybe New York. Leaving was starting to look brighter and brighter every day, but then again… dad did seem confident that we could stay…. Only time would tell.


	26. News

Hey guys! I hope this isn't obnoxious and I'm sorry it's not an update. I've been brainstorming on different drafts for a while, however I finally began my own story.

If you want to check it out, either look up "Freshmeat" on Wattpad or click this link: story/147530927-freshmeat

Thank you & once again, my apologies :)

Here's a description:

High School didn't appeal to Harlow in the way it did to her peers. While her friends were excited to ditch Middle School, she loathed the idea of being a freshman. However, even through all the bullying she's faced, she never expected to be literal "freshmeat." Hidden from the shadows of most of the world's knowledge is the supernatural and within the supernatural lurks a vampire named Flynn and his twin sister Cadence. And although they're typically not interested in socialization, Flynn comes to the realization that he may have to befriend a human when Cadence experiences an overwhelming lust for Harlow's blood. Is he befriending her to save her or help his sister in murder? 


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